tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76134504157685003352024-03-05T12:34:58.668+08:00swediporeana swede in singaporeelinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-50714473786644393022013-01-29T06:26:00.000+08:002013-01-29T06:26:09.968+08:00so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu..<span style="font-family: inherit;">after 18 months in singapore the time has come for me to say goodbye.<br /><br />it's been a bumpy ride - full of ups and downs - but most of all a journey of learnings and i leave singapore as a (slightly) different elin. i've visited places i didn't even know existed, met people from so many different cultures and backgrounds and accomplished things i didn't think i had the ability to.<br /> <br />so thank you, singapore and the people i've met over the past year and a half, for enriching my life. i hope to see you again soon!</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQl27Cdku33cXRsQOLjB5AEUGqk5oMk5RoL4hIGH71ZA80UFdNvRAKZkhqKoxcjt7QHzOyAkCiRWc0WOgeqrh0sz-eAhAYq48D3bSjJZ3WfrmPC8VB5AAWht_lX8abEDSzkbqVfsjX2jI/s400/IMAG2422.jpg" width="400" /></div>
elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-13640513640303249452012-12-01T15:32:00.000+08:002012-12-01T15:32:22.406+08:00oh my lip!i'm piercing-less. after 15 years. so strange. i honestly thought i would never ever take it out and only just recently thought about how funny it would be to walk around with a piercing at the age of 70. but (there is always a but, right?)..<br />
<br />
it started maybe a week ago. my lip felt a bit soar. didn't think much about it. yesterday morning i woke up and the lip was swollen. made some saline to clean it, went to the pharmacy to buy chlorhexidine and antiseptic mouth wash. despite all of this, the lip just became bigger and bigger. angelina jolie wouldn't stand a chance if we were to compare. only one side though.<br />
<br />
went to bed around 1.30am and had then decided to go to a piercing studio the following day to get a longer stud as it would never heal when the piercing was so tight. woke up again at 4am. the lip was even more swollen than before and i could hardly see the piercing. realised i had to take it out, but couldn't as it was impossible to get a good grip to unscrew it. besides, i thought i would probably need some medication for the infection.<br />
<br />
so at 5am i decided to go to the emergency. luckily, it was all empty and got to see a nurse and then a doctor straight away. then had two people faffing around in my mouth with tweezers and finally managed to get it out. in true singapore "give as many different pills as possible" spirit, i got some antibiotics, some anti-inflammatory and some pain killers.<br />
<br />
i've started taking the pills, but the lip is still really swollen. but at least i got to try something new, never been to the emergency before. oh the joys!<br />
<br />
this is how it looked when i got back from the emergency this morning..<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZPc4OytF1LMJoaJiM6zNYjXYFi52IIbPsEiQOO9204mbVI7gTFiKLeR-E6uJkyK4tDbvUKae_K0ChQG5cGv6lnVRjRB_WGqZg88hpjVZ99mvrb7j9c-vDCHvMTewQmOh-mh91rX_3TE/s1600/IMAG2387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZPc4OytF1LMJoaJiM6zNYjXYFi52IIbPsEiQOO9204mbVI7gTFiKLeR-E6uJkyK4tDbvUKae_K0ChQG5cGv6lnVRjRB_WGqZg88hpjVZ99mvrb7j9c-vDCHvMTewQmOh-mh91rX_3TE/s400/IMAG2387.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-26291887646869127442012-11-29T18:18:00.001+08:002012-11-29T18:24:00.720+08:00the end of the world?it's rainy season. again. just like this time last year. i had just forgotten how much it actually rains. there is not a day that goes by without at least one massive rain. the other week, we had another of the end of the world moments.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KjKGe7VOxDQmeMMHmDCJz0hOU7gsFyQG4MX-emxvz0IRZ6uqTaXycRjM2AM0DmmpDE6PLDDWvP46tmNm6KO7iixdCfUyC1_SyPyT908iUyYJWAxakCVLJmMhr6PhmJJ723F0ZRiuGCo/s1600/IMG_20121123_162536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KjKGe7VOxDQmeMMHmDCJz0hOU7gsFyQG4MX-emxvz0IRZ6uqTaXycRjM2AM0DmmpDE6PLDDWvP46tmNm6KO7iixdCfUyC1_SyPyT908iUyYJWAxakCVLJmMhr6PhmJJ723F0ZRiuGCo/s320/IMG_20121123_162536.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> this is how it looked at 4.20 in the afternoon.. and just so you know, the sun doesn't set until 7pm (</span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">this is with an instagram filter so it wasn't quite as bad, but still pretty bad..)</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiI-bRl1ppvJZcxCYmdv7ZCltIFGTqGdLaXgRCw_MXdYXyLo-viXtnujRDrcuIpgsDZ5KzmG8N1dDGNbVqFZPohVnpYcvbUxJQwwv73sJxFdEGpeCmW6Z9eEKvn7Mbwqrhmm-P-hRO1M/s1600/IMAG2369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiI-bRl1ppvJZcxCYmdv7ZCltIFGTqGdLaXgRCw_MXdYXyLo-viXtnujRDrcuIpgsDZ5KzmG8N1dDGNbVqFZPohVnpYcvbUxJQwwv73sJxFdEGpeCmW6Z9eEKvn7Mbwqrhmm-P-hRO1M/s320/IMAG2369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>without filter..</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
after a while my house seemed to be in the middle of the storm. the thunder was constant and the lightning so frequent it was almost like a disco light. i'm normally not afraid of the thunder, but this was scary and of course i had to make a video.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-picasa-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzvrdxW1iI9nAag_JQE2PtLhrgdYT2nAwYEXpLhTOvfF8JzauNxZqrvFcpCJUlsB-sou7dsAr17AvdD2qFnWxJvFXMm3uQlsNKZQpk33WWQs4URo3IKMXsnnkRyJd8XFpWUV895ML120/s1600/VIDEO0058.mp4" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fredirector.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D65c598a50b88badd%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%253Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1356775689%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3D3754B88639B7BFEF8FD10C40DCA08265AB2E38D9.92A829EFAF23F8EF19888F41BAB198AFA3E6CC2E%26key%3Dlh1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fredirector.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D65c598a50b88badd%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%253Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1356775689%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3D3754B88639B7BFEF8FD10C40DCA08265AB2E38D9.92A829EFAF23F8EF19888F41BAB198AFA3E6CC2E%26key%3Dlh1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">don't miss the last 20 seconds!</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5yXp8TGWeyx-pn_oXu-inO6dph2DsemsPkQ0QgDqon1PhiiZlQvWi0OHb3ipNrqZ5M7gzq9ZrUkWzcJ2HiQbdkcmH0IpGd6jnPV59Ni2q3eWiV1-foBsYP2Grl1-jm3X6xrt_omo2Mo/s1600/IMG_20121123_180428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5yXp8TGWeyx-pn_oXu-inO6dph2DsemsPkQ0QgDqon1PhiiZlQvWi0OHb3ipNrqZ5M7gzq9ZrUkWzcJ2HiQbdkcmH0IpGd6jnPV59Ni2q3eWiV1-foBsYP2Grl1-jm3X6xrt_omo2Mo/s320/IMG_20121123_180428.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">and this is what it looked liked after the storm had cleared, around 6pm..</span></i></div>
elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-58782398101079890882012-11-27T01:52:00.001+08:002012-11-27T01:53:33.665+08:00probably the most clever person in the world..about a month ago, the uk announced they were out of the recession. as happy as that made me, i still feared the pound would get stronger and the exchange rate drop so that my singapore dollars would be worth less when the time came for me to go back.<br />
<br />
luckily, just a couple of days before this declaration, i had completed the registration for a money transferring service. in panic and of course without looking further into facts and figures, i went in to check the development of the exchange rate. to my despair, it turned out the pound was getting stronger against the singapore dollar. despite very rarely being an impulsive person, i quickly made the decision to take action and order a transfer straight away.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
i changed my money on thursday the 1st november at 11am.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ir9FlRmBrq4ZUP5gESK3cfhna06KoK24_Egw4hiQ3d80W6DakxyWZQJ-e8L6bYqrwovp0xVa59z1KQQhFBFpTsOWblzsVBw62pc6E8a0N7P0BVABc4zUphqWuI4OEn49U1pfp-81F48/s1600/snillen+spekulerar.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ir9FlRmBrq4ZUP5gESK3cfhna06KoK24_Egw4hiQ3d80W6DakxyWZQJ-e8L6bYqrwovp0xVa59z1KQQhFBFpTsOWblzsVBw62pc6E8a0N7P0BVABc4zUphqWuI4OEn49U1pfp-81F48/s1600/snillen+spekulerar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ir9FlRmBrq4ZUP5gESK3cfhna06KoK24_Egw4hiQ3d80W6DakxyWZQJ-e8L6bYqrwovp0xVa59z1KQQhFBFpTsOWblzsVBw62pc6E8a0N7P0BVABc4zUphqWuI4OEn49U1pfp-81F48/s320/snillen+spekulerar.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
now, nearly a month later, i can almost laugh at the outcome of my sudden impulsivity. i guess a career in the currency exchange business would not really be my thing..</div>
elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-54348060439147977342012-10-17T02:47:00.000+08:002012-10-17T02:48:41.891+08:00bridget jones?think i might be turning in to bridget jones. there are a few reasons..<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iHRtmQggrDO6SZgPj5TOMUmVuR-iTssGyg0cUoRRmO7jwCABd-LvsABIWKjt-QzMAl7PmUx79DMGV6Qg5RHF9B_fLLCauGwyIEsmyyAwNNpIN9xfSoU9MOB_eYS5gGFoPijCD7kLrnOD/s1600/bridget+jones.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iHRtmQggrDO6SZgPj5TOMUmVuR-iTssGyg0cUoRRmO7jwCABd-LvsABIWKjt-QzMAl7PmUx79DMGV6Qg5RHF9B_fLLCauGwyIEsmyyAwNNpIN9xfSoU9MOB_eYS5gGFoPijCD7kLrnOD/s320/bridget+jones.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
1. my work phone doesn't display if there are any messages so a couple of times a day i pick up the phone to check. 99 times out of 100 i get the same answer: 'you have no new messages'<br />
<br />
2. a couple of weeks ago i went to thailand over the weekend. the week after i got an email from my boss. he was worried and had pictured me in a thai jail, him having to come and post bail. unfortunately, he's no mark darcy (and i didn't end up in jail either, just for the record)<br />
<br />
3. on the flight to thailand i had made myself comfortable with my silly, pass the time book called 'the perfect man' when a group of guys got on the plane. and of course they had the seats next to mine.. pretty embarrassing when one of the guys asked what i was reading. felt a bit like a bridget jones moment<br />
<br />
4. nothing new, but i do love a good rom com<br />
<br />
luckily, i have yet to sit at home alone in my pjs, singing along to 'all by myself', getting stupid drunk on absolut vodka. might change though as takenori left me a bottle when he went back to new york and i still haven't drunk it.elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-50531906718391921382012-07-15T20:18:00.000+08:002012-07-15T20:18:05.227+08:00lift languagei've always thought lifts spoke very 'neutrally', but have met a couple of lifts recently who speak dialect..<br />
<br />
for example, my lift in singapore says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
ferste floor</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
(this means first floor and i'm incredibly happy i normally just go between the second and the fifth floor as this pronounciation drives me insane)</blockquote>
<br />
and the lift at my hotel in london has the following accent:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
doors closingk, lift goingk op</blockquote>
<br />
very interesting.. elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-59683174012424010292012-06-12T23:49:00.002+08:002012-06-12T23:50:15.993+08:00mjukstarti
have this theory that the closer you get to something, the stronger you
feel about it. like the closer you get to your sky dive, the more
terrified (or some crazy people would say excited) you get, the closer
you get to your job interview or client presentation, the more nervous
you get, and so on.<br />
<br />
it's the same with things you long for and
look forward to.<br />
<br />
the closer i get to friday, the more i long for it to
come. because friday is the day when i fly back to europe for over five
weeks - a bit of holiday, a bit of training and a (bigger) bit of work.
can't wait!<br />
<br />
been away for quite a while now so felt i needed what we call a "mjukstart" in sweden:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQL9uPLEQ77wOqL7M-vhjPIQHXA6IBCNaTekJrEv3U00an3K4e0eWmrvEceyZ2RuMZCxwOKV7umVfggIO-QHpDwqhua1is4QycR_hCwe1vxBq4U8aLWQbuNwmR8Byx6N9tfTOKmB-FCig/s1600/IMAG0156.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQL9uPLEQ77wOqL7M-vhjPIQHXA6IBCNaTekJrEv3U00an3K4e0eWmrvEceyZ2RuMZCxwOKV7umVfggIO-QHpDwqhua1is4QycR_hCwe1vxBq4U8aLWQbuNwmR8Byx6N9tfTOKmB-FCig/s320/IMAG0156.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">started a couple of weeks ago with swedish meetballs</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gOaAmgbV99rvYOo4eP5pyhBOT_kwZdS24exOrrOYb724uhszygI9cn-nip56_s9MYXuj_lUD7oseqFYIAa2HV-xP_rSQ-l122fpyQyw2-8IpMRn-Wx9NuvcrBK7tM-kyMmBXHK8xSNI/s1600/IMAG1622-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gOaAmgbV99rvYOo4eP5pyhBOT_kwZdS24exOrrOYb724uhszygI9cn-nip56_s9MYXuj_lUD7oseqFYIAa2HV-xP_rSQ-l122fpyQyw2-8IpMRn-Wx9NuvcrBK7tM-kyMmBXHK8xSNI/s320/IMAG1622-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>kopparbergs cider</i><i> to celebrate the swedish national day 6th june (note the blue and yellow)</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwke-p3KGt3vKogXPaRr6vocN8NyZcDP4_i6X_M_C9j-baZAUwOX3L0WeUCGr3vacpjprNUgkSXEwRpJkXIlcpK2CMP5QGL2K_ZJDq1a8omEV5XcQvBZzb3HVIBgjnq3Ofdc7mtBbFWZM/s1600/IMG-20120610-WA0002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwke-p3KGt3vKogXPaRr6vocN8NyZcDP4_i6X_M_C9j-baZAUwOX3L0WeUCGr3vacpjprNUgkSXEwRpJkXIlcpK2CMP5QGL2K_ZJDq1a8omEV5XcQvBZzb3HVIBgjnq3Ofdc7mtBbFWZM/s320/IMG-20120610-WA0002.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>rekorderlig cider at the beerfest</i></span></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-84780054894903101772012-06-12T23:43:00.001+08:002012-06-12T23:46:03.512+08:00how to turn a simple matter into something complicated..some things in life are just plain and simple. no matter how much you try, you just can't make them complicated. at least that's what i used to think before i moved to singapore. despite the simplest simplicity, the singaporeans seem to have invented a way of turning simple matters into something complicated.<br />
<br />
for example. last weekend, there was a beerfest here in singapore and fatima and i decided to go. when we got there, we did of course join the queue to pay the entrance fee. once that was done we were allowed to proceed.. to the next queue where this guy tore our tickets.. before we could proceed to the next guy who gave us our festival wristbands. he also told us where to go to buy beer tokens as we couldn't pay by cash inside the festival area. so that was four transactions replacing one. what is that saying again? more is less??<br />
<br />
after stocking up on beer tokens, we then went to get our one "complimentary" drink (i say "complimentary" as it was included in the very humble entrance fee of SGD43). but.. at the first stall we encountered some problems. it turned out you could only get these drinks at a special stall. after some walking around, we managed to locate the stall and once there, fatima wanted one of the portuguese beers. i wanted a swedish pear cider. but.. the portuguese beer was not included in the "complimentary" drinks, nor was the swedish pear cider. the apple cider of the same brand and same price was included though..<br />
<br />
et voila, simple turns into complicated!elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-33515548036480763562012-05-05T13:34:00.001+08:002012-05-05T13:43:40.958+08:00happiness<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiaceX8wh-JdqAcFqPe8tS2fhyphenhyphenp5wAFA66BHhglI2RZI3ChxGIi3tx9lDxIyXYy-dV6o3KHJcL_QqFcyeUio9LMa-_Gba6asqa-mr5cD6QWY81vWiz6t5TL8CsblPUUPULrWDHm9rVVY/s200/IMAG1382-1.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOk-LCg9tzDFAJS3Okpb1xMTzJqVEo-oAHDMo0sWhc4b-lpCNR19-iqyyRQDrsdxenpd3JYxWuqRJoQAQizwbFckxjDZvCiS-1_Cd9zqgShWCi-ztMbeWVXWQ0fc_B0VMHwAPcB_ZkFd0/s200/IMAG1385-1.jpg" width="200" /> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoCMcYr-_f73KlPYpC4AUkAEhocS2BUySF6ha3pcdvYR5xugJJk_3935zpsmtLgJQWEupW9T-z4sbTqymIW1F2wUJIL3ncLkt07_aTFQ4P-Sv3WiCxShjU-Jw87MZZVSASRoY3MBugyE/s200/IMAG1387-1.jpg" width="200" /></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-36309717514786495222012-05-04T01:02:00.001+08:002012-05-04T01:12:04.900+08:00two months today!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_Ts-ISMJf7y7sS1C3QZzepMY8Q8ecXlgBciGILiBTtCE1NT5lTF-ROJ1mNhBg5PVSuVev0a0FOe_VAlWwkrrUGxksyUEP1DD4p6BuHsKWbAGwr1Z7yvZd1V01sTVVzmQ50EOrP6K1bs/s1600/IMAG0570-1-2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_Ts-ISMJf7y7sS1C3QZzepMY8Q8ecXlgBciGILiBTtCE1NT5lTF-ROJ1mNhBg5PVSuVev0a0FOe_VAlWwkrrUGxksyUEP1DD4p6BuHsKWbAGwr1Z7yvZd1V01sTVVzmQ50EOrP6K1bs/s320/IMAG0570-1-2-1.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
today - two months as a non-smoker! it's been easier than i thought it would be, but not promising anything for the future. for now, i'm just happy with these 60 days, 21 hours, 43 minutes and 6 seconds..elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-20163002543163411252012-04-14T14:12:00.010+08:002012-04-14T14:55:09.107+08:00crossing the street..in singapore, even the simplest thing can turn out to be complicated and - first and foremost - regulated. like crossing the street.. to start with, there are of course restrictions as to where you are allowed to cross. if you see this sign, you are not in a good place to make your way across the street.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTS48WSYwdMRPp21zztunaSZQuKqVCrp9rYdG0JdsSn9fA0ZNqcp4NTcMm5Y7HYl_pYXnwhcBknHzFYRsBkIt5oWw8gR75Ger-gnQR2qY4X-MzyG6a23RmTTvf63Kwpj7SRsd4qhLpug/s1600/IMAG0604.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTS48WSYwdMRPp21zztunaSZQuKqVCrp9rYdG0JdsSn9fA0ZNqcp4NTcMm5Y7HYl_pYXnwhcBknHzFYRsBkIt5oWw8gR75Ger-gnQR2qY4X-MzyG6a23RmTTvf63Kwpj7SRsd4qhLpug/s320/IMAG0604.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731136931284932738" border="0" /></a>then there is the sign that tells you to use the crossing. as well as the other sign, this one means you are not allowed to cross (except for when using a crossing).<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXxDz6JbqCvHX6FCDordCdzPZuPgNXK1athwu_Z9bRza58aLpOZiPy_0oykmgP4w_EmvmPuDhxRfAKXw6FIQ0mNEGH9v3RP-tI6xE4IeKAJv71y63ouJyOmD6IkulaZdJBKS7Swv3Nh8/s1600/IMAG0603.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXxDz6JbqCvHX6FCDordCdzPZuPgNXK1athwu_Z9bRza58aLpOZiPy_0oykmgP4w_EmvmPuDhxRfAKXw6FIQ0mNEGH9v3RP-tI6xE4IeKAJv71y63ouJyOmD6IkulaZdJBKS7Swv3Nh8/s320/IMAG0603.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731137583003361394" border="0" /></a>once you find a crossing, there are some other rules to adhere to. there are the general ones..<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdg6O7AHYDJjBTThV8WMxyLkjTQSdN3h4_9sMz4xV-VPwSv5iLfPXX-e1IpfdlajCTHXacxqpe1ixorFtZabwWG78AnBcIWeGPIrTI2eHBzfRFMEjskCsgt_XrB4Op2b7ZEOBFOVa33Q/s1600/IMAG0677.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdg6O7AHYDJjBTThV8WMxyLkjTQSdN3h4_9sMz4xV-VPwSv5iLfPXX-e1IpfdlajCTHXacxqpe1ixorFtZabwWG78AnBcIWeGPIrTI2eHBzfRFMEjskCsgt_XrB4Op2b7ZEOBFOVa33Q/s320/IMAG0677.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731136388478590898" border="0" /></a>note how this tells you to 'press for green man'. you would have thought this was simple, but it can of course not be done in any careless way. there are also some specific rules on how to press. or how not to press.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQ2_PI4pmZ1gRCyio8EDK8kUe3nQ11jeZ-FqI7yKDyeAKbVb3U_tZqF1o1sKVs8kioVjY9m4p046IBx1Kq14yXIUVD-7KXpwywLu9VQUabUrqgSktNqUKGVuhGGuVLtr6_KV9DqEOlgA/s1600/IMAG0584.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQ2_PI4pmZ1gRCyio8EDK8kUe3nQ11jeZ-FqI7yKDyeAKbVb3U_tZqF1o1sKVs8kioVjY9m4p046IBx1Kq14yXIUVD-7KXpwywLu9VQUabUrqgSktNqUKGVuhGGuVLtr6_KV9DqEOlgA/s320/IMAG0584.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731139332496453714" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiro_jPqtF8uSuseWPdiC7bueYHAGrCYfhjPR43viTzfgza75D5nUJMURJNN9sedW_yE-s4ODYeOMx2S0gpfLCDYRn7T-P9dcglV3MfbfLeclKQKSZwf7QxqY8rSt9Aw775TKNFl2a0THw/s1600/IMAG0571.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiro_jPqtF8uSuseWPdiC7bueYHAGrCYfhjPR43viTzfgza75D5nUJMURJNN9sedW_yE-s4ODYeOMx2S0gpfLCDYRn7T-P9dcglV3MfbfLeclKQKSZwf7QxqY8rSt9Aw775TKNFl2a0THw/s320/IMAG0571.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731136224223889138" border="0" /></a>i'm not sure if there is a fine for pressing the button the wrong way, but if you are caught crossing the street somewhere where it's not allowed, i've heard the fine is SGD 500 (which is about £250 or 2,500 kr). worth it?elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-4810176978914127512012-04-10T22:42:00.035+08:002012-04-11T02:50:48.050+08:00tokyoa couple of weeks ago, takenori and i went to tokyo on a business trip. i still can't really understand that i get to go on business trips. guess it has something to do with not realising how old i am either.. hmmm..<br /><br />anyway. i really liked tokyo. the people were very friendly, the city clean, modern and relatively easy to get around. i had to take a picture of the very comprehensive underground map. what complicates things slightly is the fact that there is the underground and then there are several different train services, who apparently have the same colours as the underground lines.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpltU0xwskz4uijXFkKxNYdIaA6RC6pEUw2e36xe8MRpZ3Z8c8XN_wjJgG3YFT-fEIgmLwijxbO4IbEMUYwYLwUTX3W4AvVRBUlrCe0d1GOfvtDzAn1SJtzAptW6YRMANn6XvsQheO3gk/s1600/IMAG0724.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpltU0xwskz4uijXFkKxNYdIaA6RC6pEUw2e36xe8MRpZ3Z8c8XN_wjJgG3YFT-fEIgmLwijxbO4IbEMUYwYLwUTX3W4AvVRBUlrCe0d1GOfvtDzAn1SJtzAptW6YRMANn6XvsQheO3gk/s320/IMAG0724.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729811824181242434" border="0" /></a>i also really like the japanese language. only managed to learn a few sentences and words, such as 'i'm elin', 'nice to meet you', 'thank you', 'hello'.. the usual, but what i really liked was the fact that in japanese the consonants are important, just like in most european languages and as opposed to for example chinese and vietnamese where the vowels and tonation matter more.<br /><br />one thing that i had really hoped to see was the sakura - cherry blossom. mid to end of march is normally the perfect time, but due to an unusually long and cold winter, the trees looked like this. everyone told us they would bloom any day..<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QvLr-0zpPJ1mszUz4ZKRMJ-f0-GwAtHWWtDvq-xZ3Xz_RiS5PQHMJv7MJHjlWUHNTvCvPW51aoyrPIQ7i7e3OX9Q49KJkSvsPKNjxoZTyV0mJA8fh2NSpquBk46GYl5kigRQqLnp5cs/s1600/IMAG0834.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QvLr-0zpPJ1mszUz4ZKRMJ-f0-GwAtHWWtDvq-xZ3Xz_RiS5PQHMJv7MJHjlWUHNTvCvPW51aoyrPIQ7i7e3OX9Q49KJkSvsPKNjxoZTyV0mJA8fh2NSpquBk46GYl5kigRQqLnp5cs/s200/IMAG0834.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729812681856990050" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjvkgySJ9mpAhClpkEz5HrxcA75VUpe4Dpvsrg1Q4vdLy5dqIgc6Eb4M9ED76sG8-iyeX9WTW16uq0syXekBiHRCwfKdTvfs5PGIG0gDPcV5torViWm7VZ9tTykIsl7BppsXbC-rNChzE/s1600/IMAG0836.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjvkgySJ9mpAhClpkEz5HrxcA75VUpe4Dpvsrg1Q4vdLy5dqIgc6Eb4M9ED76sG8-iyeX9WTW16uq0syXekBiHRCwfKdTvfs5PGIG0gDPcV5torViWm7VZ9tTykIsl7BppsXbC-rNChzE/s200/IMAG0836.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729813035220137314" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzbPjafqHEKvAKjm9GGkMLVVCsaPDwA5ZQGNe0moWxtqkuuSwWqDEsxDEQi-xrFJ2R1wuOluQSMjYugu5kALt_eLIWgCKb6KLogfcizFa9ARq0aLCHJONlktkMMEt_KDaxN9i3IIOw4c/s1600/IMAG0803.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzbPjafqHEKvAKjm9GGkMLVVCsaPDwA5ZQGNe0moWxtqkuuSwWqDEsxDEQi-xrFJ2R1wuOluQSMjYugu5kALt_eLIWgCKb6KLogfcizFa9ARq0aLCHJONlktkMMEt_KDaxN9i3IIOw4c/s320/IMAG0803.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729813717224747266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">this street is called something like 'cherry blossom lane' and is apparently incredibly beautiful when the trees are in bloom..</span></span><br /></div><br />since we were there for work, we didn't have that much time to do all the touristic things, but thankfully takenori knows tokyo quite well and knew what to see and how to get around. so we..<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBs_V7SmSyTIzPyQQdtQd5nKXX5GKKAxeaZTZeNVgP2c_5Gmfn7-BRSI7wob1-DfwCruGf1ALELJiFqFSnP5veGzESrP_idsTGGRI75ACg86TUt_bKVQlZkb8CEDcwwdhdYJt790kMxk/s1600/IMAG0753.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBs_V7SmSyTIzPyQQdtQd5nKXX5GKKAxeaZTZeNVgP2c_5Gmfn7-BRSI7wob1-DfwCruGf1ALELJiFqFSnP5veGzESrP_idsTGGRI75ACg86TUt_bKVQlZkb8CEDcwwdhdYJt790kMxk/s320/IMAG0753.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729815106056566146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">pretended to be adults and dressed up in business clothes. funnily enough, i think we managed to pull it off, at least with some people..<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDH2j9Ss7LbM4yDgFa7H9HNabDB7atChBJvjMhZU7IXcc-0O0glvC9tH1upPyYvvQdcuV_Pfyy2LJyG-_LSWNZBZ8s7V1Z8Rc3nh4x5h2moOPda6VJizHqvsFZralmW715Nto93B81Qbk/s1600/IMAG0805.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDH2j9Ss7LbM4yDgFa7H9HNabDB7atChBJvjMhZU7IXcc-0O0glvC9tH1upPyYvvQdcuV_Pfyy2LJyG-_LSWNZBZ8s7V1Z8Rc3nh4x5h2moOPda6VJizHqvsFZralmW715Nto93B81Qbk/s320/IMAG0805.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729814739024581042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">went to a shrine - a japanese temple. before entering you had to wash your hands and mouth<br /><br /></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZ2CGZVLQe5OeKaMnxYDDoM0TwkEfdOXU5cc7Syf8BZ6__P9MoQw9whWxEIkz5wUj8VJ5Kt35tDXcF2FLgfch70G2BmuIcKNVwv9n2JboQRY4349My0t5LqESZKY8uje3UllLPqQbs3Q/s1600/IMAG0761.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZ2CGZVLQe5OeKaMnxYDDoM0TwkEfdOXU5cc7Syf8BZ6__P9MoQw9whWxEIkz5wUj8VJ5Kt35tDXcF2FLgfch70G2BmuIcKNVwv9n2JboQRY4349My0t5LqESZKY8uje3UllLPqQbs3Q/s320/IMAG0761.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729815916244227090" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78OxusKHqSRf0gDmD2tPco0qLUafUDzigxnmjOj2MoTpa3IQwOxPytQ8CBN3uJFjpz6GTgmhC-RMGHUtItcZ95beqXMml41uZYoRBA9rsKvuQ4_xviv0aLkcPGKX5wj9H-BUDJ5Q8F4c/s1600/IMAG0762.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78OxusKHqSRf0gDmD2tPco0qLUafUDzigxnmjOj2MoTpa3IQwOxPytQ8CBN3uJFjpz6GTgmhC-RMGHUtItcZ95beqXMml41uZYoRBA9rsKvuQ4_xviv0aLkcPGKX5wj9H-BUDJ5Q8F4c/s320/IMAG0762.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729816466010489954" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">vistited shibuya and shinjuku<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcnRLSBwG3LkYo4HJ0yNtwyl1D6XXl0O8CLoQFddcASMLrw8WCTWUhoyxGRMTzakAxaalON_LMgYxiaezCPDhfJosNUQze7n2PyH_yuR0HJFJkUWs63gLrdrtJlUZpqdg5mOlCV-P9Rw/s1600/IMAG0765.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcnRLSBwG3LkYo4HJ0yNtwyl1D6XXl0O8CLoQFddcASMLrw8WCTWUhoyxGRMTzakAxaalON_LMgYxiaezCPDhfJosNUQze7n2PyH_yuR0HJFJkUWs63gLrdrtJlUZpqdg5mOlCV-P9Rw/s320/IMAG0765.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729818099037328146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">ate shabu-shabu, a local dish where you boil meat and vegetables in a pot of broth, similar to the chinese hot pot</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGd4HqyPFpFc3iLGJBZOO-HOycK1elsk45clhXvrmeSVbPHq56SJFToNwJMCgvJeBT024YR74RQZWfo8bsoyW131MgKTQlaDq585kezzJtPpVnATXZYQ72OBqgY8Xf5eyeWZ8CW4Si48/s1600/IMAG0816.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGd4HqyPFpFc3iLGJBZOO-HOycK1elsk45clhXvrmeSVbPHq56SJFToNwJMCgvJeBT024YR74RQZWfo8bsoyW131MgKTQlaDq585kezzJtPpVnATXZYQ72OBqgY8Xf5eyeWZ8CW4Si48/s320/IMAG0816.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729823349873831538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">strolled around at ginza</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggk-sTHJRXk_k0Pauhzaq9R6drEpLVKBoStjsfn4n9zCxVNvhnh9nXilzRH9BNilbePqwg6o7k5h21cdUi4DzGuyIk2DUS72NTCvtSR2sOZEU89cipJ4dP2uCPszR2CdM2SQgWJMBP3s0/s1600/IMAG0812.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggk-sTHJRXk_k0Pauhzaq9R6drEpLVKBoStjsfn4n9zCxVNvhnh9nXilzRH9BNilbePqwg6o7k5h21cdUi4DzGuyIk2DUS72NTCvtSR2sOZEU89cipJ4dP2uCPszR2CdM2SQgWJMBP3s0/s320/IMAG0812.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729821687207705842" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKAzrtWHVCglTeGfQDgBZRFw0GyrWieZB5hQLD02-QkvoLsls_8KXwdvmp3nGKb8havFhYVoR0gpSl9LoAAKb9NnvGO_T4jh0c0oGw6xcwGGhQDRhTY7hQs6cfN7jSMJ3fVrdka3VXvg/s1600/IMAG0813.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKAzrtWHVCglTeGfQDgBZRFw0GyrWieZB5hQLD02-QkvoLsls_8KXwdvmp3nGKb8havFhYVoR0gpSl9LoAAKb9NnvGO_T4jh0c0oGw6xcwGGhQDRhTY7hQs6cfN7jSMJ3fVrdka3VXvg/s320/IMAG0813.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729821473025434402" border="0" /></a><br /></div> <span style="font-size:85%;">had sushi at the fish market near by</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhoOEKur7uCpUzCkB4OitPEdVj6n66lFc0T6Z_E1YJTzwj9KNE0NHbPkd9jW6VwUyBfCBeWsWUUBcqaCs1-bvFQWpJJEMvhEXf9_0XJqJ_YKM0t-SzxAUNRmUvehIHEM4JAGAe35cKnE/s1600/IMAG0820.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhoOEKur7uCpUzCkB4OitPEdVj6n66lFc0T6Z_E1YJTzwj9KNE0NHbPkd9jW6VwUyBfCBeWsWUUBcqaCs1-bvFQWpJJEMvhEXf9_0XJqJ_YKM0t-SzxAUNRmUvehIHEM4JAGAe35cKnE/s320/IMAG0820.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729824895123122114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">went to akihabara, aka geek town, where i bought a portable/mobile battery for my phone<br />- best buy ever!</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4kU1vgAcNm1JpKjWEvuumAC3RnUe842ljlLenkn1xVrCdEr3rCtCjx4mZFy5yN5fsOe33PoOTzE43ca23e9YY-NkpLJCJsp8tSHjc_XHtWyOIXnyqyIuvf2OTkjVraaXgZVoUy4zHzM/s1600/IMAG0855.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4kU1vgAcNm1JpKjWEvuumAC3RnUe842ljlLenkn1xVrCdEr3rCtCjx4mZFy5yN5fsOe33PoOTzE43ca23e9YY-NkpLJCJsp8tSHjc_XHtWyOIXnyqyIuvf2OTkjVraaXgZVoUy4zHzM/s320/IMAG0855.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729829140421829362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">saw the buddhist temple in asakusa</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1gciX9ZUMQNFjT11ZLgE1novtgIa3EcSH7NPAEUlNMfhH4nCFY5bJ_PP6j1vn0ctJGxnxAyu0S1n2Qko_mTHzUbnfKCuuGzgC4TBcNczqiERClff6uW3-fgLmN8QGphkKMbhNHBupO8/s1600/IMAG0838.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1gciX9ZUMQNFjT11ZLgE1novtgIa3EcSH7NPAEUlNMfhH4nCFY5bJ_PP6j1vn0ctJGxnxAyu0S1n2Qko_mTHzUbnfKCuuGzgC4TBcNczqiERClff6uW3-fgLmN8QGphkKMbhNHBupO8/s320/IMAG0838.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729833984193812354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">and the asahi brewery</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9JTS55X528Gb_l271cZOYioIcI7kbQS0HOKn4714z-dCF-1J3phXi_eik-puD6Uzh7M-uzwVWR6GUkHX3NHDoNh5VkVtplv5rasBUugbfpezDVC-kAs3OJpul5bKg5uydIgqKg2R2ZQ/s1600/IMAG0858.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9JTS55X528Gb_l271cZOYioIcI7kbQS0HOKn4714z-dCF-1J3phXi_eik-puD6Uzh7M-uzwVWR6GUkHX3NHDoNh5VkVtplv5rasBUugbfpezDVC-kAs3OJpul5bKg5uydIgqKg2R2ZQ/s320/IMAG0858.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729829685731540850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">went on a river cruise</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDGLMTUmcAfkPCVBzs8a2oh8MpDIzD9fKlYHHWY6CBb88rwVs4rPCDzWep8PZDfmj8k4_tvC2DkDC4LgcaalNMShyhxqf6ejhxBz_GvVzSepJ590VhtZ8Kl2Y_X95OEC_3x1Ra3kdMTs/s1600/IMAG0859.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDGLMTUmcAfkPCVBzs8a2oh8MpDIzD9fKlYHHWY6CBb88rwVs4rPCDzWep8PZDfmj8k4_tvC2DkDC4LgcaalNMShyhxqf6ejhxBz_GvVzSepJ590VhtZ8Kl2Y_X95OEC_3x1Ra3kdMTs/s320/IMAG0859.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729829991451753714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">had some okonomiyaki, a japanese pancake with cabbage, ham, cheese, prawns - a bit of everything. if i remember correctly, okonomiyaki means something like a bit of everything fried and the idea is similar to the swedish pyttipanna<br />(shoko, this one is for you, but your okonomiyaki is miles better)<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_H6vrMxWA4y7WI-ZPlO6Bdos-bMIrJCcEDMd5zrSXF3mxsVS8V6Gk0Zfo5pLT-KULGsSLabKrQpB6Xh6NpE3rkwzB2a4XAhtJmjPgtxIq1kCFfopljREI0ghmTGEdQf1HSbMLeOd11OM/s1600/IMAG0868.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_H6vrMxWA4y7WI-ZPlO6Bdos-bMIrJCcEDMd5zrSXF3mxsVS8V6Gk0Zfo5pLT-KULGsSLabKrQpB6Xh6NpE3rkwzB2a4XAhtJmjPgtxIq1kCFfopljREI0ghmTGEdQf1HSbMLeOd11OM/s320/IMAG0868.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729811637068046786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">after getting off the boat, we went to a park where i could finally see some blossoms. they weren't sakura, but i'm not a botanist either so as long as they are beautiful, i'm happy..<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuh-jmtxUcN0WUU9JQJw7jneZpjjF7Oi_PCvDk-Wpp9n3pkBVnK35VXVho5FKVXKIEzeF6d9uuM_bQmoVlD0-xVkH4gm-noXRMl-eTUfEewOXsMcUnSMYBbUq7_T30U_y6P1KqMRxopo/s1600/IMAG0872.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuh-jmtxUcN0WUU9JQJw7jneZpjjF7Oi_PCvDk-Wpp9n3pkBVnK35VXVho5FKVXKIEzeF6d9uuM_bQmoVlD0-xVkH4gm-noXRMl-eTUfEewOXsMcUnSMYBbUq7_T30U_y6P1KqMRxopo/s320/IMAG0872.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729832310394386834" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyV88Fh_53NQU1bph6APW3m_p75TuYX4qo5VkrjXufEwomBnTR5c_Hzb0Qcpmuk34I9oy4vqcZ2_hJdxeBbPPbKmeV-Wo9-cJ_wCLwESanbKCVBhCz1Ud5CwufAqRTYSLS4QtCNB8kmE/s1600/IMAG0875.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyV88Fh_53NQU1bph6APW3m_p75TuYX4qo5VkrjXufEwomBnTR5c_Hzb0Qcpmuk34I9oy4vqcZ2_hJdxeBbPPbKmeV-Wo9-cJ_wCLwESanbKCVBhCz1Ud5CwufAqRTYSLS4QtCNB8kmE/s320/IMAG0875.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729833335025550882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">also love the contrast between the nature and the buildings</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhTu2Uo4hXDgziChxeQLr8rjUbVN1SQTXZrTUUHDNF6yUTX0qrn5y56dS9kTSPYfQNSzKwZa7ymh8OwyZ3uz_U9ERO5xxBR7PMv-ChV3kA5y1j8VRbBI_ibds1BY9KM8MsVEZdBAoqnU/s1600/IMAG0723.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhTu2Uo4hXDgziChxeQLr8rjUbVN1SQTXZrTUUHDNF6yUTX0qrn5y56dS9kTSPYfQNSzKwZa7ymh8OwyZ3uz_U9ERO5xxBR7PMv-ChV3kA5y1j8VRbBI_ibds1BY9KM8MsVEZdBAoqnU/s320/IMAG0723.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729838466128823794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">japan is a high tech country and i just had to take a picture of the advanced toilet options. i especially like the the flushing sound button. i think they are on to something here - having a button making a flushing sound prevents people from flushing the toilet excessively trying to disguise other noices, which in turn helps saving the environment - klockrent, as we say in swedish<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMO1BHFJ_WtLhKo2QPVtsMMIcQmiborikm2WeEOVn375pF1d4y0TXh44y8l_bY5AIqLABwF2V8BsPXFN7bIKKR8TSXotnAkmoy_RTzqCJZC8mrXMNq6emMOSbw7K6BI2IoSP1d5fMlJc/s1600/IMAG0802.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMO1BHFJ_WtLhKo2QPVtsMMIcQmiborikm2WeEOVn375pF1d4y0TXh44y8l_bY5AIqLABwF2V8BsPXFN7bIKKR8TSXotnAkmoy_RTzqCJZC8mrXMNq6emMOSbw7K6BI2IoSP1d5fMlJc/s320/IMAG0802.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729836969302190914" border="0" /></a>t<span style="font-size:85%;">here are also stands where you can leave your umbrella - free locks are provided!</span><br /></div></div></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-4437347006068938792012-04-02T00:16:00.023+08:002012-04-02T01:44:25.677+08:00vietnamjust have to start this blog post with fantastic news - today, 1st april 2012, amie's and arnold's little baby girl alice was born. congratulations to all three of them!<br /><br />a couple of weeks ago, i went to vietnam over the weekend to meet my brother and his family. just the thing going to vietnam over the weekend is quite amazing to me. to be able to meet calle, phuong, nhu and ludvig in a small village in vietnam is incredible.<br /><br />the village is where phuong grew up (and nhu spent her first four years) and i was really thrilled to be able to go there. phuong wanted to show me paradise islands and other more touristic things and couldn't really understand why i wanted to come to the village. i, on the other hand, think it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see vietnam from a more local perspective and not just as a tourist and am really pleased to have seen it and met all her relatives. and believe me, there are a lot of relatives!<br /><br />wise people say a picture is worth a thousand words so i'll let the them speak for themselves:<br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjymRuH9OJtwq4xQIJ4k-3DrpfwS-pb0Ng-q7OFLwm2JG_db7DB6PJds7S9wJTow-hl-Eb-nm0wTOIc2lAUhZON_QzGYnOJ2EnxzUU5QdE33ZV3y48yZxp37MrsyhAYy2aaW3D_D-wHPk/s1600/IMAG0611.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjymRuH9OJtwq4xQIJ4k-3DrpfwS-pb0Ng-q7OFLwm2JG_db7DB6PJds7S9wJTow-hl-Eb-nm0wTOIc2lAUhZON_QzGYnOJ2EnxzUU5QdE33ZV3y48yZxp37MrsyhAYy2aaW3D_D-wHPk/s320/IMAG0611.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726468912721812226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>to keep all the mosquitos and other bugs out, i had this lovely mosquito net. we stayed in a very nice guest house, where they had lovely wooden furniture, just as they did in every household we went to</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAwQ9edol7W5FdjDoYEB_gL0Ngwvj-LaTKlTuxN41eyaZ0WQfgy46jAhzJa9Lci99xQEeqSNCpXV36gis6yCxfsP8hUwLgcTJgaBpvkQSMJ4OkX5q4UaTb3fn0r4eIU-38keDY0nanYc/s1600/IMAG0614.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAwQ9edol7W5FdjDoYEB_gL0Ngwvj-LaTKlTuxN41eyaZ0WQfgy46jAhzJa9Lci99xQEeqSNCpXV36gis6yCxfsP8hUwLgcTJgaBpvkQSMJ4OkX5q4UaTb3fn0r4eIU-38keDY0nanYc/s320/IMAG0614.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726469969432674002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">nhu and her cousin bin having breakfast at the breakfast café</span><br /><br /></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-DCNc2AEpVQlEejC_ig4Qx5o0N9AHoVqq3Zmw8HcWTrIqV-Vqep_FM3PEKAxmSEb4jw2d9se869Gj9f0pgNKXOIHt3QhDO0lkhyphenhyphenyNqAPhbExzVoZr5NVz6Isu55qomuNn2Oas8CzOUE/s1600/IMAG0616.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-DCNc2AEpVQlEejC_ig4Qx5o0N9AHoVqq3Zmw8HcWTrIqV-Vqep_FM3PEKAxmSEb4jw2d9se869Gj9f0pgNKXOIHt3QhDO0lkhyphenhyphenyNqAPhbExzVoZr5NVz6Isu55qomuNn2Oas8CzOUE/s320/IMAG0616.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726470440136853522" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">breakfast day 1: noodle soup with beef, really nice!</span><br /><br /></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEini_ehj1sgE1JOBeUtyLRqOyAGYkVhinmL7kwidGmJmRIFG2yp0yHuVeLEVzq9HzVNGmh8xiXvopviMJt0i9FumRxUuO5MLDCCIk8AgqhbbQu32Lkoi-vMd8ya9kA31CafGiuRVe3QoxI/s1600/IMAG0621.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEini_ehj1sgE1JOBeUtyLRqOyAGYkVhinmL7kwidGmJmRIFG2yp0yHuVeLEVzq9HzVNGmh8xiXvopviMJt0i9FumRxUuO5MLDCCIk8AgqhbbQu32Lkoi-vMd8ya9kA31CafGiuRVe3QoxI/s320/IMAG0621.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726470992950507634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">ludvig, phuong and phuong's grandmother. a funny thing was that whenever phuong was carrying ludvig, people came up to touch him and look at him. as he was a caucasian baby in their eyes, they were amazed by how phuong could be his mother. at one point, some people thought that ludvig was mine and calle's baby and that phuong was our maid - quite understandably, that really pissed her off!</span><br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG6caycafFSp3Sos5X8g7yEtexse6KcjhBEPXth8FaFHakHT9HV49ZgoEMqBBMljSeWBYHgg14U3iUDCPBOtGCtJBM4mhI6D7is63JZeXhli4ko7P9P00I9FkX4bimIWtY_xiSL7kxWE/s1600/IMAG0628.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG6caycafFSp3Sos5X8g7yEtexse6KcjhBEPXth8FaFHakHT9HV49ZgoEMqBBMljSeWBYHgg14U3iUDCPBOtGCtJBM4mhI6D7is63JZeXhli4ko7P9P00I9FkX4bimIWtY_xiSL7kxWE/s320/IMAG0628.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726473506080957986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >♫ </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"vi har det bra, vi har bak i bilen, och vill ej va med om nån krock.." </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >♫</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><br /> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Calibri"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkI7d-XqFeU5wixYAIoeIKI-rUB2mimLgYI894_kPu8WZp2dxcB03afsoD7_pVZ7jBVoF5HSMeZhmWpKihOAXrHrd4OjO5UEPs9mbO9D1r7GnAnjh3X7xtbTwDgCtzb73jrGwPvE-iO4/s1600/IMAG0630.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkI7d-XqFeU5wixYAIoeIKI-rUB2mimLgYI894_kPu8WZp2dxcB03afsoD7_pVZ7jBVoF5HSMeZhmWpKihOAXrHrd4OjO5UEPs9mbO9D1r7GnAnjh3X7xtbTwDgCtzb73jrGwPvE-iO4/s320/IMAG0630.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726474892797559778" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span>dinner</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwTFbouCW69DufDZmiMBvxG1_652f07mvqryVpWXraiTijdWr2OZUhYWelxVlWkkPl49_1S3DT6Mrq7gQwF_JBo4sWYQl3k8FiKJ64sccfCppSTfGPVh8SkVlz3yLGTYhr7wuqLlEDDk/s1600/IMAG0633.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwTFbouCW69DufDZmiMBvxG1_652f07mvqryVpWXraiTijdWr2OZUhYWelxVlWkkPl49_1S3DT6Mrq7gQwF_JBo4sWYQl3k8FiKJ64sccfCppSTfGPVh8SkVlz3yLGTYhr7wuqLlEDDk/s320/IMAG0633.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726475515801334642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">breakfast day 2: another type of noodle soup with beef - again, really nice! i actually liked the noodle soups with beef so much that i am currently looking for a place in singapore who serves vietnamese food so that i can have it again</span><br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlhF13_fu_6xenvBJbblweHriYNfAHL33RIH7A8OPcS1Em__0XWGz93kXTfLtK5kvwb48S3ZscrTw6peZrcvXQDK-aGMiI3jHzNMxQ0durDwMGYeML2Rgg2oHXD5aAsWZ9StEDp5qFE0/s1600/IMAG0636.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlhF13_fu_6xenvBJbblweHriYNfAHL33RIH7A8OPcS1Em__0XWGz93kXTfLtK5kvwb48S3ZscrTw6peZrcvXQDK-aGMiI3jHzNMxQ0durDwMGYeML2Rgg2oHXD5aAsWZ9StEDp5qFE0/s320/IMAG0636.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726476220804929618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>ludvig and i</span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoAmTQdlkTJt8QV21t_OSy7egxD7mc1_BgOTV4mvGBdjnCkx4BE9kYdD-_w9hBfyGGstNo9XTwKYbFBdReY7BE1sFghKsqEC0e_uwJdykIFXza48YK2oWlZTUd04msUQ5yGJaXuvExsM/s1600/IMAG0639.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoAmTQdlkTJt8QV21t_OSy7egxD7mc1_BgOTV4mvGBdjnCkx4BE9kYdD-_w9hBfyGGstNo9XTwKYbFBdReY7BE1sFghKsqEC0e_uwJdykIFXza48YK2oWlZTUd04msUQ5yGJaXuvExsM/s320/IMAG0639.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726476984710991730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>the breakfast café</span> </span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPBCLQxUdMtGHB_XO6FYy1SKt39A70E0TfMMgaLRs9nlaQ7_aUWcn9nipolDGFhDgM3JFA-kD3GeteAndWOQrcHURf6XPWgZYilYb8MPQEh3CKj_25MXCdKjGhpKW5lfdrSiZhUDqTyY/s1600/IMAG0637.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPBCLQxUdMtGHB_XO6FYy1SKt39A70E0TfMMgaLRs9nlaQ7_aUWcn9nipolDGFhDgM3JFA-kD3GeteAndWOQrcHURf6XPWgZYilYb8MPQEh3CKj_25MXCdKjGhpKW5lfdrSiZhUDqTyY/s320/IMAG0637.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726476845281544578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">calle, ludvig, phuong and phuong's grandmother at the breakfast café</span><br /><br /></span></span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpovu1OulIds80t5KfPFJB7JG5N8qRxrEjYNaZtUzK8oEwSgNV8WWLVx6b6WjSrS_CMFgSoC3n5HioKauLh9NLywydxawEYwBIs9BqAZHS36UuBdWK8RJNsyatOD4m11hAmdYDaXiJlUc/s1600/IMAG0641.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpovu1OulIds80t5KfPFJB7JG5N8qRxrEjYNaZtUzK8oEwSgNV8WWLVx6b6WjSrS_CMFgSoC3n5HioKauLh9NLywydxawEYwBIs9BqAZHS36UuBdWK8RJNsyatOD4m11hAmdYDaXiJlUc/s320/IMAG0641.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726477118092461474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>grandmother lent me her rice hat - "dep"</span><span> (not sure about the spelling, but it means nice)</span></span><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoDiUSvG1-Wq9-IM6BWIQwdPaGIBFPmFA8chbCbelZUw4XV8jQtKMh_hgnCojF0kzW-EghmYQw1y7p9pZ9htmDPwzJ57z2x0zCTgf8jJ1t1ezc155UrWEoFKvM3iPPTZEqdgb9kPPpik/s1600/IMAG0646.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoDiUSvG1-Wq9-IM6BWIQwdPaGIBFPmFA8chbCbelZUw4XV8jQtKMh_hgnCojF0kzW-EghmYQw1y7p9pZ9htmDPwzJ57z2x0zCTgf8jJ1t1ezc155UrWEoFKvM3iPPTZEqdgb9kPPpik/s320/IMAG0646.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726478649435664274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>i decided to do a permanent hair straightening. a little bit worried considering my hair is thin, fine and blond and these people are used to thick, black, good quality hair, but it turned out great, it doesn't even curl up in the extreme humidity in singapore. and it costed me about £10 or 100kr</span></span><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-z2KGZhqFQLrOR4kX_TvFFX4gvdRrfnVw5pRe7cngutti0sI2_mPzFP8MmBS3KUsRnmsSvIHLFIAhGFN6QS7tl63FbkJCsNNfu5hg1rIS94BgJRsfK8wV9_zdF_Zu9q0RWxEvzwnLhE/s1600/IMAG0651.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-z2KGZhqFQLrOR4kX_TvFFX4gvdRrfnVw5pRe7cngutti0sI2_mPzFP8MmBS3KUsRnmsSvIHLFIAhGFN6QS7tl63FbkJCsNNfu5hg1rIS94BgJRsfK8wV9_zdF_Zu9q0RWxEvzwnLhE/s320/IMAG0651.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726479424673331074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>ludvig thought the whole hair dresser business was tiring and fell asleep</span></span><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cCw0aIv5yd1-qMJVi0BiaR-PDoHb2Noy53thO2KPcuKxI2SsrwGWznqgmPgo5rXpY4gXaeqsn6v4n0paWG3j0GJY4hk7spepyLssGZGqrLZDyePHcEmv6nWWQ1nnrSJUilMufDCvYb8/s1600/IMAG0624.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cCw0aIv5yd1-qMJVi0BiaR-PDoHb2Noy53thO2KPcuKxI2SsrwGWznqgmPgo5rXpY4gXaeqsn6v4n0paWG3j0GJY4hk7spepyLssGZGqrLZDyePHcEmv6nWWQ1nnrSJUilMufDCvYb8/s320/IMAG0624.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726483290954225442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>bin and nhu</span></span><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBui-OUTMpHRxvgtzlxlIkDryeRTpn-8M7-cO6XbGh3zh6o9cm8hmahiJPncgkAavk74MlKx8nUsFL8WDrfrqWaLmD_jfYyPmlcaUyCik1y9x5IibvWc9mIa5vm0ySLfvHud1t4AaC10/s1600/IMAG0653.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBui-OUTMpHRxvgtzlxlIkDryeRTpn-8M7-cO6XbGh3zh6o9cm8hmahiJPncgkAavk74MlKx8nUsFL8WDrfrqWaLmD_jfYyPmlcaUyCik1y9x5IibvWc9mIa5vm0ySLfvHud1t4AaC10/s320/IMAG0653.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726479967227565842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>ludvig, phuong, me, ludvig's cousin (can't remember her name), phuong's sister thao and their friend alex</span></span><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitFrgCshCwL18CcrPsdVSG7-oJO4F5Y1dnovuiVhJXaoVf7uG_iCjuRyKMN_FfuOnQBaEOnhzWLBt1a12sqRIMxz-9tBF58z0T8oR_xEosgovXt7hCk_JQ3gsRrSfAK-_-Qbrso4_z7Q/s1600/IMAG0655.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitFrgCshCwL18CcrPsdVSG7-oJO4F5Y1dnovuiVhJXaoVf7uG_iCjuRyKMN_FfuOnQBaEOnhzWLBt1a12sqRIMxz-9tBF58z0T8oR_xEosgovXt7hCk_JQ3gsRrSfAK-_-Qbrso4_z7Q/s320/IMAG0655.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726480564836567986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>in vietnam, there are motorbikes everywhere and the traffic is absolutely mad. there is only one word to describe it - chaos! i tried to capture it in a photo, but this does not in any way illustrate what it's like</span></span><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29EHjkEqcxLhf_j16El4M1csgcDswaV0EoC53xVSZawgACVfrqjsEQuGM27jZzRD7qaIVjKJm8oZLFxw0MpW6uqP2QZaUz2kYD8RxiO99zAswXjvQk8ocvPS4VPIhxmGfdWj51JXH4Jo/s1600/IMAG0656.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29EHjkEqcxLhf_j16El4M1csgcDswaV0EoC53xVSZawgACVfrqjsEQuGM27jZzRD7qaIVjKJm8oZLFxw0MpW6uqP2QZaUz2kYD8RxiO99zAswXjvQk8ocvPS4VPIhxmGfdWj51JXH4Jo/s320/IMAG0656.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726482041545725778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" ><span>local beer - ba, ba, ba</span>. <span>one thing i learned in vietnamese: mopp, haj, ba - yo! (means one, two, three - cheers! and i do not take responsibility for the awful spelling)</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-67350640174432705762012-03-26T23:57:00.007+08:002012-03-27T01:18:09.855+08:00say hello to my little friend..everyone who knows me also knows that i am not very fond of animals and don't really see the point in having a pet. i am also ridiculously afraid wasps and don't like bugs in general. with that in mind, i guess you understand why i am not at all pleased that a little cockroach has managed to find his way into my apartment..<br /><br />i first met him about three weeks ago. he just walked in under my door one late night. some stomping made him realise he was on the wrong track. a couple of days later, i found him walking around close to my new chest of drawers, i.e. about two, three metres into the apartment. the broom told him off, just a little bit more harshly than i had done the previous time. obviously not harshly enough though as yesterday, when i got back from japan, i found him walking around in the apartment again. this time exploring my shoe shelf. when i stomped and went to get the broom, he hid under the sink. i managed to get him out again, but it feels like he is getting a little bit braver and more established for each time.<br /><br />sooo.. right, i thought. time to get this little fellow to understand this apartment is not his home! i went to the supermarket, which i am sure you can imagine, is a paradise if you're looking for this kind of things. this is what i found:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnRVw5ZleolEDTV2wBdJOrJL0euOVyI2iSZRvQJ0v2wsQMXpOFlngr_I01xcf9FEEdXudC675rrxzIaEKvJ11kzYEAhyphenhyphenVRfzIXeBT2D1vXwHwbE0st-JcA8TiXxXAwHORk8gHEmLb3vQ/s1600/IMAG0883.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnRVw5ZleolEDTV2wBdJOrJL0euOVyI2iSZRvQJ0v2wsQMXpOFlngr_I01xcf9FEEdXudC675rrxzIaEKvJ11kzYEAhyphenhyphenVRfzIXeBT2D1vXwHwbE0st-JcA8TiXxXAwHORk8gHEmLb3vQ/s320/IMAG0883.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724241198963211954" border="0" /></a>might be a little bit ott for only one little cockroach, but i think it's better to put my foot down straight away before he tells his massive friends to join him. i've seen them around and wouldn't want to meet any of them in a dark alley. or anywhere else for that matter. so now i am waiting to see what will happen next. stay tuned for more updates.elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-77771961233106478932012-03-09T00:30:00.009+08:002012-03-09T00:45:23.731+08:00a colleague!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYx29r3LABxpo19jGj-9iDDdaiJlWkvJpvhmZPWpaiDfyZIm5Lb5IDatU_G8oaF4dcMLIfXrG74DLNYxvI5_kTvRVyUBeV22cJi1Z9wZkUj1kmZBv982QuBtq3Eo2hrdyg9duS3sTX6w/s1600/IMAG0588.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYx29r3LABxpo19jGj-9iDDdaiJlWkvJpvhmZPWpaiDfyZIm5Lb5IDatU_G8oaF4dcMLIfXrG74DLNYxvI5_kTvRVyUBeV22cJi1Z9wZkUj1kmZBv982QuBtq3Eo2hrdyg9duS3sTX6w/s320/IMAG0588.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717565001541267250" border="0" /></a>after almost eight months on my own, i finally have a colleague. his name is takenori and he's here on a three months secondment from our new york office. he arrived two weeks ago and i'm just over the moon to have him here! we had just met very briefly once before as he only just started working with us around the same time as i left new york. still it feels like we've known each other for ages.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYx29r3LABxpo19jGj-9iDDdaiJlWkvJpvhmZPWpaiDfyZIm5Lb5IDatU_G8oaF4dcMLIfXrG74DLNYxvI5_kTvRVyUBeV22cJi1Z9wZkUj1kmZBv982QuBtq3Eo2hrdyg9duS3sTX6w/s1600/IMAG0588.jpg"><br /></a><span lang="EN-GB">his arrival also happened to coincide with my parents return to singapore after an adventurous trip around south east asia. i </span><span lang="EN-GB">did of course do my best to combine spending time with them and at the same time making takenori feel welcome</span><span lang="EN-GB">. needless to say - they are now best friends. </span>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-16484915618130186432012-03-06T23:51:00.007+08:002012-03-07T01:07:31.398+08:00roxettejust been to the most amazing concert - roxette!! for me it's like the ultimate concert, i know just about all their songs and they're just so amazingly great.<br /><br />i had planned to go to their concert at slottsskogsvallen in sweden last summer, but turned out it didn't really work out timing wise with my little trip to singapore. my friend rebecca and i called that concert cool - concert of our lifetimes. guess how happy i was when i found out roxette would actually be coming to singapore as well!<br /><br />i think almost all of the swedish community in singapore was there. to be honest, i was a little bit hesitant about whether or not i should go at first, considering the lack of atmosphere in other concerts i've been to here. it's never great if people are just sitting there, not engaging at all, which was what happened at the beginning of the concert. we were even told off for standing up by the people sitting behind us!<br /><br />roxette were amazing though and halfway through the concert they had everyone standing up, clapping their hands and singing along. i've clapped so much my hands hurt!<br /><br />sooooo happy i went!!!<br /><br />here are some pictures and videos:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4PNwI9IwRQb4xQ4sKisWnTZ87EOrtiism6sXQic0tXJtnyQU7Frhm4mVY2JCexAdBHYMija9CFaCskxjA-ri4ejhIGJLzcpS9hSqkOpmc9sWKdS0L54rO1NODazJ3ry7Vsd92qnYAvk/s1600/IMAG0600.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4PNwI9IwRQb4xQ4sKisWnTZ87EOrtiism6sXQic0tXJtnyQU7Frhm4mVY2JCexAdBHYMija9CFaCskxjA-ri4ejhIGJLzcpS9hSqkOpmc9sWKdS0L54rO1NODazJ3ry7Vsd92qnYAvk/s320/IMAG0600.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716814954496267122" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ycETCwvY02kbA5q_SAdtY6qgtEjiD2THEwv8CGDqhar853oC-DmEhHnjsyTHXBmKmASejNo5gy-gbl3RsHnfiD5W-MErDx1djk_Eq3e_BMQeINDu0q3VTCilhKA_eIJF65pMhOSx9gg/s1600/IMAG0601.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ycETCwvY02kbA5q_SAdtY6qgtEjiD2THEwv8CGDqhar853oC-DmEhHnjsyTHXBmKmASejNo5gy-gbl3RsHnfiD5W-MErDx1djk_Eq3e_BMQeINDu0q3VTCilhKA_eIJF65pMhOSx9gg/s320/IMAG0601.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716814392050401170" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3C8O7pe6zSuUIhtLUhLksQdGmuRkiAqGYNE5c6niWzSvrAR62-9Tiy7XpuqF6yyZ1pHCrMNOBJTHthht9ph91LHeIqnzeQl8KcJ1igpWigA5I07flYFdNS5P8e-QxMFojhkNPG9cWFo/s1600/IMAG0590.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3C8O7pe6zSuUIhtLUhLksQdGmuRkiAqGYNE5c6niWzSvrAR62-9Tiy7XpuqF6yyZ1pHCrMNOBJTHthht9ph91LHeIqnzeQl8KcJ1igpWigA5I07flYFdNS5P8e-QxMFojhkNPG9cWFo/s320/IMAG0590.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716814289148506530" border="0" /></a><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx-XVtAtcOy3j2CjyXoHsUVmezJUURLBEl3Bg8OKWHVqaRexOma4Rz0fKKaQiqjS2d7ohcEkRvY4WGs9x5pWw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyPjjR6G3XqdThFFe2tI67KZ3_1OFmVPrtAy6-DyiPercrq8uRYi-8gkrTcBdHTpiCLruY-agpXIM8kFBleqw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwcwheR5GEfTMepDn8VtvgQyz9aVahuK0w2ur1kctcSBo4pdKz1Cmxk4FA71YtPrrL4dGwklrcXhfO2g_mSKQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-49544533362914560852012-02-15T23:21:00.007+08:002012-02-16T01:01:10.490+08:00valentine's dayi know valenti<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfr2LsdTNBbuuEsS0Y_t-zc6JY420gtHeqazpLSWTwUchlrLFF0WSmLWsn_P-xyRVOtDgMqm_McwVIAvnDotW8buM9zuhU_6OwD9eWJngqqpQ-dXoWjxdp8O0-CJssehmCrpWL_-_xlbY/s1600/Untitled.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfr2LsdTNBbuuEsS0Y_t-zc6JY420gtHeqazpLSWTwUchlrLFF0WSmLWsn_P-xyRVOtDgMqm_McwVIAvnDotW8buM9zuhU_6OwD9eWJngqqpQ-dXoWjxdp8O0-CJssehmCrpWL_-_xlbY/s320/Untitled.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709392974917763650" border="0" /></a>ne's day is a bit of a commercial stunt and i can't say i particularly like it (at all, whatsoever, goddamnit!). nevertheless, it's a day when i feel like doing something and not just sit at home watching tv.<br /><br />on the agenda for yesterday was going to a concert with some friends. and besides listening to the music, i also observed some cultural differences..<br /><br />the singaporeans are quite strange sometimes. yes, i know, that in itself is not a cultural difference, it's probably more of a personal opinion.. anyway, the band was playing latin american jazz music and despite me being a 'cold' swede and kind of non-rhythmical person, i still felt like it was music to dance to - actually the perfect music to play in a bar where some people casually sit around tables and some dance, while having a drink and chatting away. this concert, however, was in a kind of auditorium, where you would expect a concert with classical music to take place. people were sitting down and no one moved one inch during the whole concert. only when it was finished they all stood up and greeted the band massive applause. a bit of a surprise as the complete silence and lack of movement during the actual concert seemed to me like an indication of indifference or even dislike.<br /><br />so difference 1 is that they even have the concert where they had it and difference 2 the way they acted.<br /><br />i know you can't judge from one scenario only (which is probably the reason why this has not yet made the front page of any big news paper. besides, i am not claiming it to be scientifically reliable - just an observation), but to put one more example forward and "proof" i am not generalising (maybe only a tad), this also happened at the abba mania concert i went to. and abba is definitely not music you just sit still and listen to!<br /><br />the other thing i noticed was that people just started clapping in the middle of a song, like after one of the musicians had a solo. i don't know if it's only me as i am not that used to this type of concerts, but i find it really rude to start clapping in the middle of a song. i also got backed up by my german friend. to me it screams 'stop it, you suck'. my spanish friends didn't find it odd at all.<br /><br />i'm quite sure there was something else as well, but i've completely forgotten. i mean, this was yesterday after all and as we say in sweden 'minnet är gott, men kort'.<br /><br />all in all, it was a good valentine's day. it was nice to do something different. i would never myself had come up with the idea of going to such a concert, but it was a nice experience. i've come to realise that it's the beauty of meeting people that are different from you - you get to do things you wouldn't normally do and see things you wouldn't normally see. the most important is not to have lots in common, it's to have a good time and meeting new people with different views and interests just enrichens your life and ensures you live your life to the fullest.<br /><br />i know it sounds pretentious, but that's probably one of the main things i've learned so far in life, probably a lot thanks to travelling and meeting so many different types of people..<br /><br />that is all. hasta la vista!elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-19076469970457774382012-02-05T21:31:00.017+08:002012-02-06T22:02:08.148+08:00back in businessyes, back in singapore since almost two weeks after the most lovely month in europe. it was so nice to be back home and meet all the great people i have the privilege of knowing.<br /><br />besides the people, there were also some things i had seriously missed (and still miss), which were kind of the first things i bought when i got off the plane. food and drinks were of course a big part of it and in the uk, they were:<br /><ul><li>copella apple juice</li><li>tesco's caramelised onions hummus (and pre-cut carrots to go with that of course)</li><li>caffè nero's chai latte (even though it wasn't as good as i had imagined it would be)</li></ul>and in sweden, they were:<br /><ul><li>ramlösa</li><li>marabou chocolate (and all other swedish sweets)</li></ul>..and probably lots more that i've already forgotten so, in other words, not that important..<br /><br />i had also missed the crisp days with clear blue sky and, probably most of all, having colleagues - just walking in and there's a whole office full of people, someone to go for smoke breaks with, going to the pub after work for a few pints and just the whole feeling of belonging and being able to just walk up to someone and have a chat, ask a question or to discuss work related topics with people without having to wait until at least 5pm.<br /><br />things i realised i hadn't missed at all were:<br /><ul><li>the incredibly crappy shower at england's lane (was probably in some kind of denial so was actually quite surprised by how awful it really is)</li><li>the horrendous transport prices; tube, taxi.. (have gotten a bit used to being able to take a taxi even to go for a coffee or definitely after a night out, but especially in london it's just not justifiable)</li></ul><br />while in the uk, i moved out of my room at england's lane for good. really strange. a bit like closing a(nother) chapter in my life. the house was run down and old so probably wouldn't want to come back and live there again, but i have so many great memories and it feels a bit weird that i will most probably never set foot in that house again..<br /><br />well, moving on.. now i'm back and, even though it felt tough to leave europe again, i do enjoy being here. still can't wait to go back in june though, but will make sure i enjoy the time in between with the great people i've met here. we're having a lovely time and it's a good experience over all. besides, my parents were here visiting for a couple of days, which was great, and they will be back for another couple of days by the end of the month. it's a bit like if you can't be at home, bring home to you.<br /><br />that's all from me for this time.. just a few photos.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu68cv4MsY87eDqMmCy9mSf9GVth7lepZB9w6aRbKoVHLWhsnJsIWziJWy_Clk27mJsGo3tcM6YCsnouYOmiy9emzze5Bl6gj_HD4ioO-q1DYltZcQeOCKXqBcklCoxS428_J52mHx-c/s1600/IMAG0329.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu68cv4MsY87eDqMmCy9mSf9GVth7lepZB9w6aRbKoVHLWhsnJsIWziJWy_Clk27mJsGo3tcM6YCsnouYOmiy9emzze5Bl6gj_HD4ioO-q1DYltZcQeOCKXqBcklCoxS428_J52mHx-c/s200/IMAG0329.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705657564573227282" border="0" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xxX0P8AYaX3BSed5sMxFO5rlVRLZCbWgxTNsBuzC0EEooIWjAMVOd6ZewPIhZMn9CySFPOjvZAr6T2FzdDhyphenhyphenL9pNMzotFGbq5yc3xdbkkeJTEwpMe0E4RFaU1rkpD4Y0N0zwibTN9ro/s1600/IMAG0354.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xxX0P8AYaX3BSed5sMxFO5rlVRLZCbWgxTNsBuzC0EEooIWjAMVOd6ZewPIhZMn9CySFPOjvZAr6T2FzdDhyphenhyphenL9pNMzotFGbq5yc3xdbkkeJTEwpMe0E4RFaU1rkpD4Y0N0zwibTN9ro/s200/IMAG0354.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705657705725983426" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu68cv4MsY87eDqMmCy9mSf9GVth7lepZB9w6aRbKoVHLWhsnJsIWziJWy_Clk27mJsGo3tcM6YCsnouYOmiy9emzze5Bl6gj_HD4ioO-q1DYltZcQeOCKXqBcklCoxS428_J52mHx-c/s1600/IMAG0329.jpg"> </a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">the first photo is of the things i took with me back to sweden and the second of the things i left behind - who would have thought it was even possible to collect so much rubbish in only two years?</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGFct9dy9ndurn2fQGyBDwXFGmv7lZV9F9pnm0RgKDMQHpl-CtVO7QvbIdBXmWpRJ581Vv3bzPc58XCFYe_sixdiBRL8SJSejv3YjbHHB1UCRALVJxYd13KrcsaEBFHxWVhJ5WK7wOQM/s1600/IMAG0271.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGFct9dy9ndurn2fQGyBDwXFGmv7lZV9F9pnm0RgKDMQHpl-CtVO7QvbIdBXmWpRJ581Vv3bzPc58XCFYe_sixdiBRL8SJSejv3YjbHHB1UCRALVJxYd13KrcsaEBFHxWVhJ5WK7wOQM/s200/IMAG0271.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705656784416416402" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI2A7UI3Km0PbAE0tTicgfZKFEeJ9kuSAqt1BNmtf_bu1EbJqcEmg7t20kM2an8I3599lBGUuBkxd6j0s0_uTe30lOHNIKro5D36Tzx5EqVAjgyoN2cnQhKgLSClWENXTjgbkb8-p0Dk/s1600/IMAG0295.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI2A7UI3Km0PbAE0tTicgfZKFEeJ9kuSAqt1BNmtf_bu1EbJqcEmg7t20kM2an8I3599lBGUuBkxd6j0s0_uTe30lOHNIKro5D36Tzx5EqVAjgyoN2cnQhKgLSClWENXTjgbkb8-p0Dk/s200/IMAG0295.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705656975769490946" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">my brother and his family (and santa of course)</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvzsJJVhWbWsbTSda0K2PZsIO5fRmASuR_Xb8yFKJNSqlrZodjr94ZocUYixCgETNu0agLBSykKN-F2O-Sig2GBmZxU8fddsUKcKIhhWKtA6YcmvF2XVaaTcVetmBsZapRwss2ajgEwM/s1600/IMAG0348.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvzsJJVhWbWsbTSda0K2PZsIO5fRmASuR_Xb8yFKJNSqlrZodjr94ZocUYixCgETNu0agLBSykKN-F2O-Sig2GBmZxU8fddsUKcKIhhWKtA6YcmvF2XVaaTcVetmBsZapRwss2ajgEwM/s200/IMAG0348.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705657129927319490" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">my new little niece, indra, was being christened and luckily my sister managed to time it so that i could be there. the whole family as well as the god parents and the priest</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9U7dfFGz0DFXKB3FQNSs4YkRFlC246MQQHp1QALkAMw-wuOGYxQMK5x2FgHaCs2d08bmZGocaA4NcduxfO4OldMLNqcZddeq2vXBpSkXIOCiBEVCFfqrJfTbzUhRsMXV2T7GV95YwIlA/s1600/IMAG0334.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9U7dfFGz0DFXKB3FQNSs4YkRFlC246MQQHp1QALkAMw-wuOGYxQMK5x2FgHaCs2d08bmZGocaA4NcduxfO4OldMLNqcZddeq2vXBpSkXIOCiBEVCFfqrJfTbzUhRsMXV2T7GV95YwIlA/s200/IMAG0334.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705658039269736594" border="0" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSBqOCUud2dhkycO8YtEYagvOWGsAIHCV4A2S-vxNKj9j9JiseJ4aHMSTbXTGfYGPOTS6ZF1S_lKUOoNqe4eEVgytWZ4JXvUzIsVjMfzCB1XlPxEny0KMDa-EFF69v7aB5tWxrVvpu7M/s1600/IMAG0341.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSBqOCUud2dhkycO8YtEYagvOWGsAIHCV4A2S-vxNKj9j9JiseJ4aHMSTbXTGfYGPOTS6ZF1S_lKUOoNqe4eEVgytWZ4JXvUzIsVjMfzCB1XlPxEny0KMDa-EFF69v7aB5tWxrVvpu7M/s200/IMAG0341.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705657925307048178" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxENiwLCwOPIa0NFRssaeXshaaKQQOr8p_8g28TSNkpzo1DGskdUlnwfQh23WBKdnE5naZQHbBOJePWi_ut7k1l0aRBDAF29U-6yyYHmHIbG6gtXjigF-qRjMULlYJkSzxG6iOZNjUxiQ/s1600/IMAG0344.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxENiwLCwOPIa0NFRssaeXshaaKQQOr8p_8g28TSNkpzo1DGskdUlnwfQh23WBKdnE5naZQHbBOJePWi_ut7k1l0aRBDAF29U-6yyYHmHIbG6gtXjigF-qRjMULlYJkSzxG6iOZNjUxiQ/s200/IMAG0344.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705658176225625298" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWpKfP1YgvDcucinAnQDkmXTr_dzP9WLdblJay4-VlJxdWsrVUGnMV7UCdMb01xrGgev0Us5-7u6krTklO1mZpetpdIFxjB2TQ-YniGN0VeOEpf7S9T5gfA2iCK8uEN7HXX0OvIUwxZA/s1600/IMAG0332.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWpKfP1YgvDcucinAnQDkmXTr_dzP9WLdblJay4-VlJxdWsrVUGnMV7UCdMb01xrGgev0Us5-7u6krTklO1mZpetpdIFxjB2TQ-YniGN0VeOEpf7S9T5gfA2iCK8uEN7HXX0OvIUwxZA/s200/IMAG0332.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706022469224235538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">my brother and i had a celebrity themed belated 30th birthday party - a premiere for the middle age and everyone dressed up as celebrities</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zoNRBJuwR11h4ZVDnCz26WwoPz3nowK3jkf-kkfX3zUIWkVDu77CmAHARmRpUC0hs7O0k79T2BphQ3kvNSPk7-YbV-i3Ht7PRiiTIn4Qd8-kJdcn5Njg-rybfmviW25wYa6HWBP76a4/s1600/IMAG0319.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zoNRBJuwR11h4ZVDnCz26WwoPz3nowK3jkf-kkfX3zUIWkVDu77CmAHARmRpUC0hs7O0k79T2BphQ3kvNSPk7-YbV-i3Ht7PRiiTIn4Qd8-kJdcn5Njg-rybfmviW25wYa6HWBP76a4/s320/IMAG0319.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705657383838196626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">kopparmärra - a statue in central gothenburg. you see the sky, that's what i'm talking about!</span></span><br /></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-53162978056578851362011-12-18T20:44:00.021+08:002011-12-18T23:21:38.206+08:00impressions of shanghaithe first thing that struck me when i got off the plane in shanghai was the light. it was just so bright, despite the haze. i've noticed that in more northern countries, the light is kind of white and cold (and i don't mean the temperature), whereas in singapore for example, it's more yellow and warm. this, together with the cold (this time yes, the temperature), made me feel a bit like at home.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUnFmLue-f7-N5hOmDeXXfIjcukKs8jkOcPFFH9Jng9qDVsm-Mnhxpjp1msaDcSP8SVYwCh1psw3RVDUB5O3TBxy2IZrPq0owabVC-qxoXvmuPJIULX272GXWZrYRfoHyaob9EXkzq18/s1600/IMAG0134.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUnFmLue-f7-N5hOmDeXXfIjcukKs8jkOcPFFH9Jng9qDVsm-Mnhxpjp1msaDcSP8SVYwCh1psw3RVDUB5O3TBxy2IZrPq0owabVC-qxoXvmuPJIULX272GXWZrYRfoHyaob9EXkzq18/s320/IMAG0134.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687468337013099122" border="0" /></a><br />it was cold and sunny when i landed. or as sunny as it can get with the extremely polluted air and heavy haze. the gorgeous day reminded me of all the things i really love about being in a cold country - scarves, tights, boots, hats.. and the amazing feeling of having a cup of warm tea when you're absolutely freezing, lighting candles, being able to go for a walk without melting away, actually enjoying the rare sunshine instead of trying to escape it, the christmas feeling spreading when hearing a familiar christmas carol on the radio and smelling the glögg. the list is long.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjwsiIXLzx32IcifosEk5OgXsP5OgvVKRLuY65d7mvxkEfog_DZdHB6oryMOPZyIF1wcDE4HMN2YNkkmITy8lBMIpJhKks1iy3PwAl5dr6hMMrphBDzCCA7yAbtxU3ZXR4EprbP_QR3Y/s1600/IMAG0126.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjwsiIXLzx32IcifosEk5OgXsP5OgvVKRLuY65d7mvxkEfog_DZdHB6oryMOPZyIF1wcDE4HMN2YNkkmITy8lBMIpJhKks1iy3PwAl5dr6hMMrphBDzCCA7yAbtxU3ZXR4EprbP_QR3Y/s320/IMAG0126.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687468546036923570" border="0" /></a><br />i guess the simple truth is that i am a nordic person. i enjoy differences between the seasons (and i am not just talking about more or less rain). there is nothing like that first day of spring after a long winter, the first swim in the freezing sea, the leaves changing colours and even the first snow.<br /><br />but.. after a few days in shanghai it started to rain and i also got reminded of all the things i hate about the cold, rainy, windy autumn/winter - cold and wet feet, hands and ears so cold it actually hurts, feeling reluctant to even go out, the fact that some days the sun doesn't even seem to rise. this list is long as well. after some time on my little nordic bliss cloud, i realised there are pros and cons of everything and the most important is to look at things from the bright side and enjoy the pros of where you happen to be at the moment. perhaps easier said than done though, i have an ability to think the grass is always a bit greener on the other side..<br /><br />of course shanghai was not all about the climate. the weather was just about the only thing shanghai and sweden had in common. here are some of the differences.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZThbO8fbjaPS2fiBjkKvXXWoR1Oz-klvX18y0gRB1Ct2KGUdACLQ1j6E_5ImD2gUcSrEMyY6iygIgEcWtkZkkS3VrEphw0w9yxRn1UZKJ4oYU92l_h2GRbezM17nDPTSX4IsQ37iovk/s1600/IMAG0139.jpg"><br /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">traffic</span><span> - </span>the traffic in shanghai was absolutely mad! no one seemed to care about red lights or green lights or yellow lights for that matter. they were just driving. and honking the horn. all the time. if someone wanted to change lanes, he wasn't let in. if not stuck, the taxi drivers were just zigzagging between the five or six lanes on the motorway. you couldn't use a seatbelt because they were all stuck under the seats.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZThbO8fbjaPS2fiBjkKvXXWoR1Oz-klvX18y0gRB1Ct2KGUdACLQ1j6E_5ImD2gUcSrEMyY6iygIgEcWtkZkkS3VrEphw0w9yxRn1UZKJ4oYU92l_h2GRbezM17nDPTSX4IsQ37iovk/s1600/IMAG0139.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZThbO8fbjaPS2fiBjkKvXXWoR1Oz-klvX18y0gRB1Ct2KGUdACLQ1j6E_5ImD2gUcSrEMyY6iygIgEcWtkZkkS3VrEphw0w9yxRn1UZKJ4oYU92l_h2GRbezM17nDPTSX4IsQ37iovk/s320/IMAG0139.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687468882048501010" border="0" /></a><br />the worst thing i saw was a man on a motorbike, holding a small baby with one arm and a phone in the other hand, just driving through a red light.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">language</span><span> - </span>it's really weird being in a country where you don't understand anything at all. i couldn't even take a taxi without a note in chinese with the address i was going to. when i went to the pharmacy to get some pain killers, i communicated using one of my two words (hello) and a post-it note.<span> they even translate brand names, which is normally a big no-no for other languages.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_Q0u-FA_aD9mvgFO4WRS1aWZcUGB9hkDQJNb5ZCDMOq2BbGYYzM6Y-7Estmf9boJ1oztYQYf47IWl7LIfDLUOttZKO08o1XBb2PcalwW9J8tDKKefN-TL8KMExJt7wLLAqvMQQysqag/s1600/IMAG0116.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_Q0u-FA_aD9mvgFO4WRS1aWZcUGB9hkDQJNb5ZCDMOq2BbGYYzM6Y-7Estmf9boJ1oztYQYf47IWl7LIfDLUOttZKO08o1XBb2PcalwW9J8tDKKefN-TL8KMExJt7wLLAqvMQQysqag/s200/IMAG0116.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687469317766800466" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrM28HF_tOcMTXZrRjS-U_LsP7pF3E8QNmQ58T_RZrcE2s-4NiwJ_Rsgvlfd7PSHJH7XLotOyjTdvqvnpAAeGQN9WWfODqRfrBjofcDY4EmGlDKiJKBhhKaKqlP1PtR1fooLU8SMjjZs/s1600/IMAG0115.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrM28HF_tOcMTXZrRjS-U_LsP7pF3E8QNmQ58T_RZrcE2s-4NiwJ_Rsgvlfd7PSHJH7XLotOyjTdvqvnpAAeGQN9WWfODqRfrBjofcDY4EmGlDKiJKBhhKaKqlP1PtR1fooLU8SMjjZs/s200/IMAG0115.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687469171602123122" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">openness and transparency</span> - facebook, twitter, blogspot and god knows which other sites are blocked in china. to me it's strange (and upsetting) that they are trying to and most likely succeed to control the flow of information and oppress the freedom of speech through blocking this kind of sites.elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-83680772300184446922011-12-12T20:43:00.010+08:002011-12-12T21:28:42.236+08:00useful phrases in chinesebefore leaving, i thought it would be a good idea to buy a phrasebook to learn some useful phrases. here's what's considered useful in the book i found:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVq3Dt6v6n3UIPZHu417lYhSRHRMD7S6eBy317MHa2uEVG7AXTB8FWob0PIJOmDD0tC1HhgNBulr0rtG99_x0QYrv5lRKxmN2VtAGqe6n1f39ia_kFC2lvLJeZiH0moCORrkGVygt2TLU/s1600/IMAG0150.jpg"><img style="height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVq3Dt6v6n3UIPZHu417lYhSRHRMD7S6eBy317MHa2uEVG7AXTB8FWob0PIJOmDD0tC1HhgNBulr0rtG99_x0QYrv5lRKxmN2VtAGqe6n1f39ia_kFC2lvLJeZiH0moCORrkGVygt2TLU/s320/IMAG0150.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685227688134623346" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7cIzesqMkRNd30sihnYgjiU2YHFhwPGcie1uPiZi77cpnFg_c4lkcl0eKNpKpm0Gg7YXIM_gFhyphenhyphenALA2-RN1IZ4OSGb3n0GEZhR4n2v9du04FrvZtpbFSsaVRBG96ixBzfs1WfnIK548/s1600/IMAG0153.jpg"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-z8SqDMjppZ2xfd-jd2XIyZbpkOQhloqzO_FH52KokUy660A1cL6s0l4lYlnTmy2xMHdjKENHYroP9IHA8I7Y_VM1xU9ScLswhs-gnFsEYZ99MNI9dK69BT3JlssUNN-aQyUeXHA7ORE/s1600/IMAG0159.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-z8SqDMjppZ2xfd-jd2XIyZbpkOQhloqzO_FH52KokUy660A1cL6s0l4lYlnTmy2xMHdjKENHYroP9IHA8I7Y_VM1xU9ScLswhs-gnFsEYZ99MNI9dK69BT3JlssUNN-aQyUeXHA7ORE/s320/IMAG0159.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685232600461689138" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7cIzesqMkRNd30sihnYgjiU2YHFhwPGcie1uPiZi77cpnFg_c4lkcl0eKNpKpm0Gg7YXIM_gFhyphenhyphenALA2-RN1IZ4OSGb3n0GEZhR4n2v9du04FrvZtpbFSsaVRBG96ixBzfs1WfnIK548/s1600/IMAG0153.jpg"><img style="height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7cIzesqMkRNd30sihnYgjiU2YHFhwPGcie1uPiZi77cpnFg_c4lkcl0eKNpKpm0Gg7YXIM_gFhyphenhyphenALA2-RN1IZ4OSGb3n0GEZhR4n2v9du04FrvZtpbFSsaVRBG96ixBzfs1WfnIK548/s320/IMAG0153.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685228001841137954" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldpGvR8HkegBMxPgbM1Ya7lfGgCUL8VabJiAjxRb7YV0QaNHImivv9yI-rQCLdhvwlP9VZNscEbh2LIPB5VptG24fbZ5nURDDhV5Dzg0wVnBAINHeIkiXGoAujoY38bK6kVVrza_cIao/s1600/IMAG0152.jpg"> <img style="height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldpGvR8HkegBMxPgbM1Ya7lfGgCUL8VabJiAjxRb7YV0QaNHImivv9yI-rQCLdhvwlP9VZNscEbh2LIPB5VptG24fbZ5nURDDhV5Dzg0wVnBAINHeIkiXGoAujoY38bK6kVVrza_cIao/s320/IMAG0152.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685227851920003874" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3nogAWu7ankWDT3vnNOqVL746Z-EAJZuVwbgwWhnpvmiR-YWnW5pRl9DQEX-vyaw1zSSJdGGZ9qxQfttSu_1gG0GdcTvr3Z0G7Sy8lfsagWVTcX1L3IoRmwgZFmQqqxjemNiYGd_h8g/s1600/IMAG0154.jpg"> </a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3nogAWu7ankWDT3vnNOqVL746Z-EAJZuVwbgwWhnpvmiR-YWnW5pRl9DQEX-vyaw1zSSJdGGZ9qxQfttSu_1gG0GdcTvr3Z0G7Sy8lfsagWVTcX1L3IoRmwgZFmQqqxjemNiYGd_h8g/s1600/IMAG0154.jpg"><img style="height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3nogAWu7ankWDT3vnNOqVL746Z-EAJZuVwbgwWhnpvmiR-YWnW5pRl9DQEX-vyaw1zSSJdGGZ9qxQfttSu_1gG0GdcTvr3Z0G7Sy8lfsagWVTcX1L3IoRmwgZFmQqqxjemNiYGd_h8g/s320/IMAG0154.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685228197529575138" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-qOXhjvl1l8VPivWakDmibgqTkBtnnbEPT1sG0z1vFghAqqr9fdMccN9E3LmTAp0GYE8Rvc5ZJV2ia_tIyXpnQCilSSwVJvsjjgk_FDTtTON6vKGkI4p6dbDi3fmWK4Fr865fVqRRg0/s1600/IMAG0157.jpg"> <img style="height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-qOXhjvl1l8VPivWakDmibgqTkBtnnbEPT1sG0z1vFghAqqr9fdMccN9E3LmTAp0GYE8Rvc5ZJV2ia_tIyXpnQCilSSwVJvsjjgk_FDTtTON6vKGkI4p6dbDi3fmWK4Fr865fVqRRg0/s320/IMAG0157.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685228334744592754" border="0" /></a></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-18779455473277880272011-12-12T10:21:00.003+08:002011-12-12T20:42:50.399+08:00singapore meets shanghaiback from shanghai. it was really nice to meet my colleague echo that i have never met before. while i was there, the london office had an update meeting and they wanted us to make a video to play during the meeting. so we made this one:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzDV4hOIeaBPLdUROp23QAd6vQ9NszuxHgSTKZZqmt2JURg7ExkxyOn-hZo0MhuTfg3syHqOt7_A-1-PkeoOQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-35280244973102432792011-12-03T18:58:00.002+08:002011-12-03T19:03:32.290+08:00it's raining... halleluja, it's raining...for the ones who realise which song i refer to in the title, i can tell you that it's not raining men. just a lot of water. all the time. we had such a nice plan for today - to chill out by the pool in clara’s condo. judging from the amount of rain over the last few months, it might have been a somewhat over optimistic plan.<br /><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBq4546_JIX_QS-W9TYqqsh8MTDmgQEMrJqK7vBiL6J_kXWSKK1xT4e7-ZUKSblkjQx3WhbO2lLLN2W4n7yQk9G92hCIrokyt-FR4OQjdQ9RsbvDcjCAxGxXFrypSzYW3OjQTVglxSxE/s1600/IMAG0087.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBq4546_JIX_QS-W9TYqqsh8MTDmgQEMrJqK7vBiL6J_kXWSKK1xT4e7-ZUKSblkjQx3WhbO2lLLN2W4n7yQk9G92hCIrokyt-FR4OQjdQ9RsbvDcjCAxGxXFrypSzYW3OjQTVglxSxE/s320/IMAG0087.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681855974998254322" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">it looked bright for a bit though. didn't even start to rain until about five minutes after we got there. so after wasting the part of the day when it was not raining shopping for a winter jacket (which feels like a very odd thing to do when it’s 32 degrees outside, but just realised it's like 7 degrees in shanghai and a cardigan may not be sufficient to keep me warm), we spent some time by the pool, in the rain - watching the lightning and listening to the remarkably loud thunder.<br /><br />i realise that my perception of singapore as a sunny place might have been so strong that even when i read the climate section in my guidebook, i just blanked out that 'rainfall is highest' could actually mean it would rain all the time. only now when i had a look in the guidebook again, just to (hysterically) laugh at and condemn its unreliability, it became clear to me it actually did mention it would rain. i hereby quote the guidebook:</span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><blockquote>"Singapore's temperature remains fairly constant throughout the year, with an average high of 88° F (31° C) and relative humidity of 85%, Rainfall is highest from November to January and lowest in June and July."</blockquote></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">looking back now, i think i was fooled by the mention of constant temperature and humidity. probably a normal beginner's mistake for someone who's from sweden and has lived in the uk for a couple of years. in both countries rain normally equals cold. at least i have now learned to never leave the house without an umbrella wearing other shoes than flip flops. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-9902436496388129652011-12-03T00:38:00.010+08:002011-12-03T01:53:33.798+08:00您好<span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class="">despite the chinese characters in the title, i have of course not learned any chinese while being here. the only things i can say so far are 'hello' and 'thank you'. i use it quite frequently though. like every time i go buy my fruit juice from the nice little chinese man at the hawker centre. considering that everyone here speaks english (or at least singlish, which i am gradually starting to understand), i haven't had that much use of it though.<br /><br />buuuuuuuuut.. next week on the other hand, it will be much more useful as i am going to shanghai! </span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class=""> it's my first time in china and also my first real business trip so i am of course very excited. not only about going on a business trip, but about the whole </span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class="">going to china</span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class=""> thing. i hope i will have time for some other things than just work too. will stay from sunday to sunday so should be alright.</span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class=""><br /><br />main things planned are to see my colleague as well as some of our clients. </span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class="">won't be able to fill a whole week with meetings so will also work a bit from the shanghai office. after spending all this time as the only freedman person in the office here, i am really looking forward to sitting in the same office as someone else, just being able to shitchat about simple things like work or rant about someone that we both know (i.e. hate).<br /><br /></span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class="">i also meant to do some research about things to do in shanghai, but the last couple of weeks have been hectic and i haven't really had the energy when i had the time and vice versa. now when i do have both time and energy, i'm spending it writing a blog post. sometimes i wonder how i prioritise. well, i have all day tomorrow too..<br /><br />anyway, all tips on things i shouln't miss out on while in shanghai are most welcome.<br /><br />i'll finish off with a funny photo from </span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class="">starbucks in </span></span><span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="zh-CN"><span class="">australia. apparently, they are not very used to people called elin (like every other country besides the scandinavian countries..).<br /><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpskg03omhHQZRw-XMFV_ZFV2DOomAp-YCPXOJwI2S-yXj4_MCdid_cLj55TOtnwa8J7IENdmalfDkEvJOSxM7hmoX6EcaaZUdbxQalLBso7vDV7VHcAoGeupKV3_IYGRFqEEGDwzJOA/s1600/DSC00553.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpskg03omhHQZRw-XMFV_ZFV2DOomAp-YCPXOJwI2S-yXj4_MCdid_cLj55TOtnwa8J7IENdmalfDkEvJOSxM7hmoX6EcaaZUdbxQalLBso7vDV7VHcAoGeupKV3_IYGRFqEEGDwzJOA/s320/DSC00553.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681583237857898210" border="0" /></a>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-83323697993985538812011-10-24T20:14:00.017+08:002011-10-24T22:38:26.108+08:00phillip islandi'd like to start this blog post by bragging about my new little niece indra, who was born on the 19th october. from what i hear and see on the pictures, she's such a lovely little baby and i can't wait to meet her. i am now the proud aunt of five absolutely adorable children!<br /><br />over to the adventures down under.. after a week in melbourne, it was time for us to leave the city and go for a little road trip. we decided to go to phillip island to watch the penguin parade, which is one of the world's largest colonies for this particular penguin species. the penguins who live there are the smallest species, imaginatively enough called 'little penguins'.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZojEgbngmbRaGxTU4Oe8_AVJ7hFVKdSflniPYQRJte_upEfGDPi8U6mCbtgr5oTHFKt58OsSt24uJwcDEzNnsgMJgnOthinzsxd4U0fjc1emaJMynsdr98J4m5vQdUas3BRXBvD8u8A/s1600/DSC00554.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZojEgbngmbRaGxTU4Oe8_AVJ7hFVKdSflniPYQRJte_upEfGDPi8U6mCbtgr5oTHFKt58OsSt24uJwcDEzNnsgMJgnOthinzsxd4U0fjc1emaJMynsdr98J4m5vQdUas3BRXBvD8u8A/s320/DSC00554.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667041099212948146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">arnold and amie are getting the van ready for the trip</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcrvin0q47FTbRxUfg3PysW16kN838Dky7IndASClr97ybDCssBgX2_32Db7w9mu3OsMhzMfL6URlBPtp47_SEbttanOYt3raR25uc82o-IpkkDTUUNkwC-VJ6EOSlpCaPMH12Cn4EIw/s1600/IMG_0765.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcrvin0q47FTbRxUfg3PysW16kN838Dky7IndASClr97ybDCssBgX2_32Db7w9mu3OsMhzMfL6URlBPtp47_SEbttanOYt3raR25uc82o-IpkkDTUUNkwC-VJ6EOSlpCaPMH12Cn4EIw/s320/IMG_0765.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667041743245321634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >amie was driving, while arnold and i had a few beers</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwn8Ncv93HXCg02vZpQNND3xibKhwYf7CpiSbnRApFrTcWvR0mdNAu27B4n9zq0NzfYZVRorvk3RatmePaw7nJvQYkhX4PoM16Vn30Wv_iL5rnFAqsQ-g3bxgNyYwFnvxTvD5K70txe4/s1600/IMG_0776.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwn8Ncv93HXCg02vZpQNND3xibKhwYf7CpiSbnRApFrTcWvR0mdNAu27B4n9zq0NzfYZVRorvk3RatmePaw7nJvQYkhX4PoM16Vn30Wv_iL5rnFAqsQ-g3bxgNyYwFnvxTvD5K70txe4/s320/IMG_0776.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667047576450261378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >the nature around the island is beautiful and here we are in front of the seal rocks at sunset </span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.penguins.org.au/images/stories/penguin%20parade%20penguins.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 142px;" src="http://www.penguins.org.au/images/stories/penguin%20parade%20penguins.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos of the penguins, but this is what they looked like when they emerged from the sea and waddled across the beach</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RB8PHKfdFA55jlODQyKPc5WPhVy1y5Rrn69RCAKlls5E85USJgqyEgdTrJp2znAKnhA7HxrpgYH63fVygGjVjQcBcw0ceINzc3EzHGG78Ar4vvYcl9jsFN0RrI-Y2nHye6Yight4PcU/s1600/IMG_0772.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RB8PHKfdFA55jlODQyKPc5WPhVy1y5Rrn69RCAKlls5E85USJgqyEgdTrJp2znAKnhA7HxrpgYH63fVygGjVjQcBcw0ceINzc3EzHGG78Ar4vvYcl9jsFN0RrI-Y2nHye6Yight4PcU/s200/IMG_0772.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667048839121767074" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-9lHhCueZhX77gcKyS50rpPC-zDjlqAkdTlZ9G31E8rICwho2ORJDFhGuyVmIetj1r6CJoTE-6YzuPQOTFxKYAWZSgYbTo-ZzAW5P9sT_gfooFx37haf_5-Lk4WTyithxrbjzt3tny4/s1600/IMG_0761.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-9lHhCueZhX77gcKyS50rpPC-zDjlqAkdTlZ9G31E8rICwho2ORJDFhGuyVmIetj1r6CJoTE-6YzuPQOTFxKYAWZSgYbTo-ZzAW5P9sT_gfooFx37haf_5-Lk4WTyithxrbjzt3tny4/s200/IMG_0761.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667049003784448146" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkSVT2JBNIkbxGmen4Rtt_kqxxZ3gzSplIMfW3xec_S7roUQW-qCbhlkNI6nxkJMV2HYFfSukq-IdqiM6r0TZvYicoPpw6NDw2Qw3sbOzIXl1HYSMk520uXzR9dSB4Qo47iLdP89tWuM/s1600/IMG_0771.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkSVT2JBNIkbxGmen4Rtt_kqxxZ3gzSplIMfW3xec_S7roUQW-qCbhlkNI6nxkJMV2HYFfSukq-IdqiM6r0TZvYicoPpw6NDw2Qw3sbOzIXl1HYSMk520uXzR9dSB4Qo47iLdP89tWuM/s200/IMG_0771.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667049309482803634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">we stayed in a hostel (that arnold referred to as a prison, but that was actually quite nice)</span></span><br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NKQOfgKB-0hphNiOZzbMrORvvJ93xmiOj9MaxRjbig2_0pxioxr6zlQAu5AXkqxEZtJuxl_SfmFq9fWuXQh_39uQY0wb79apGTpbP3smmxwbkSLlpft3tCCwkjZSlw_IUah_zVl3Zyo/s1600/IMG_0774.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NKQOfgKB-0hphNiOZzbMrORvvJ93xmiOj9MaxRjbig2_0pxioxr6zlQAu5AXkqxEZtJuxl_SfmFq9fWuXQh_39uQY0wb79apGTpbP3smmxwbkSLlpft3tCCwkjZSlw_IUah_zVl3Zyo/s200/IMG_0774.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667050259727344274" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsqpKlhHkbYHA9FxUp1x9p4U94xoF5ghd7m9N6cVvDai55ZKP19YygskyqV_BwICczf9bPfpXoU_8qgiMDM7ruJ8-Op__uTypBgylDNDOWBqCO6oeuC1qn2SA1YXIi1rUZHnmq78VHe0/s1600/IMG_0773.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsqpKlhHkbYHA9FxUp1x9p4U94xoF5ghd7m9N6cVvDai55ZKP19YygskyqV_BwICczf9bPfpXoU_8qgiMDM7ruJ8-Op__uTypBgylDNDOWBqCO6oeuC1qn2SA1YXIi1rUZHnmq78VHe0/s200/IMG_0773.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667050033440290226" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">outside the hostel, there was a big wave and we tried out the surf</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(guessing it might be pretty easy to see which two have actually surfed in real life and who hasn't..)</span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oqAhoZ37yym6U5gozU08bQvjOReDqwfUrhTk6XRfrVL4Kn_oIxwTuZ2MTVCwoVv8Aj3RfmXGj-_CdWltTghxcNYsArHXCejT069gSUWubHs-P-P9qhHZa4Z3CvDRflMrdgatwkPwO00/s1600/IMG_0780.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oqAhoZ37yym6U5gozU08bQvjOReDqwfUrhTk6XRfrVL4Kn_oIxwTuZ2MTVCwoVv8Aj3RfmXGj-_CdWltTghxcNYsArHXCejT069gSUWubHs-P-P9qhHZa4Z3CvDRflMrdgatwkPwO00/s320/IMG_0780.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667052375398568898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">we took the ferry over from sorrento to queenscliff</span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWx0X9JPzopY7pJRNottpF9CPVuSGusoypLXhgw5OTKc87udr2ELaU14m4V_S35GNawfF_AcQUrb6YcZLybbfiMeCieR9GGOA6bm9NX3-rS4wKYhx9VNuBoGhXh5AaShsutFPHz-tMxkQ/s1600/IMG_0778.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWx0X9JPzopY7pJRNottpF9CPVuSGusoypLXhgw5OTKc87udr2ELaU14m4V_S35GNawfF_AcQUrb6YcZLybbfiMeCieR9GGOA6bm9NX3-rS4wKYhx9VNuBoGhXh5AaShsutFPHz-tMxkQ/s320/IMG_0778.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667052974659883234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">and enjoyed an ice-cream in the sun</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">from queenscliff, we went to torquay - the gateway to the great ocean road. bought a pair of flip flops <span>and</span> a pair of pink, fluffy slippers (a real bargain, had been $24.95 and i got them for $9! don't think i'll need them in singapore, but they will probably come in handy once i'm back in cold europe again.. in a couple of months or so..).<br /><br />on the way back, we also stopped in geelong to say hello to arnold's cousin and before we knew it (i fell asleep on the way back) we were back in melbourne again after an amazingly nice weekend!<br /></div></div>elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613450415768500335.post-82657818024006258282011-10-20T08:29:00.002+08:002011-10-25T08:08:02.970+08:00the beachit's quite cold in amie's and arnold's apartment and after a night of cuddling up with the hot water bottle, i woke up to the most amazing day. the weather yesterday was absolutely lovely, sun shining from a clear blue sky, 29 degrees and a mild breeze - perfect!<br /><br />i decided to go to st kilda beach. there are trams in melbourne and i feel like home (as in gothenburg). it's so convenient to just jump on a tram to go to the beach, or wherever you want to go. the water was pretty cold though, hmm.. i guess you could say refreshing (kind of in the same way you say someone who's stingy is economical).<br /><br />after spending the day on the beach, i met up with a x 2 and we bought some take out and had dinner on the beach, watching the sunset.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdQYxC5W8yeR515kW90qVXzZWC6SffMvet1ydpLAKyhz7qsc_6znzAqZE9gN0170luX7Ven8S9C98s-B-PJ5PrUyzWTkRbb7prjPt9HmuTFg01x4sVifAnWAqaOOR2YP61rgjMQk9CmQ/s1600/319951_10150870287305375_684865374_20960704_581238016_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdQYxC5W8yeR515kW90qVXzZWC6SffMvet1ydpLAKyhz7qsc_6znzAqZE9gN0170luX7Ven8S9C98s-B-PJ5PrUyzWTkRbb7prjPt9HmuTFg01x4sVifAnWAqaOOR2YP61rgjMQk9CmQ/s320/319951_10150870287305375_684865374_20960704_581238016_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665358136609720610" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUD6Ls2QsrFaiXq7pvrTIYbAUBqxkKBf3Q_BihctbJzJa369steei1yPlWrBviwmkE8z_lhrHxWDqoBsAD51N1DH2q65Sq-JSYr1y0w1x7VwKl1AX2wLle5BhukmuqK4GI1oGq1Q79uU/s1600/309558_10150870286825375_684865374_20960701_472629518_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUD6Ls2QsrFaiXq7pvrTIYbAUBqxkKBf3Q_BihctbJzJa369steei1yPlWrBviwmkE8z_lhrHxWDqoBsAD51N1DH2q65Sq-JSYr1y0w1x7VwKl1AX2wLle5BhukmuqK4GI1oGq1Q79uU/s320/309558_10150870286825375_684865374_20960701_472629518_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665364701254326946" border="0" /></a>so far, i've been quite rubbish with the camera, only arnold takes photos that both amie and i steal - amie for facebook and me for the blog. i promise to get my camera out soon and paparazzi away.elinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12664702229272164008noreply@blogger.com1