Around the world in 90 years

So much to do, to plan before I leave

florahui — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 21:52:00 GMT

Before I leave, I have a whole bunch of things to do, and I think Lonely Planet for Fiji will become my saving grace. I honestly have no idea what to do when I first get to Nadi, and for that matter, I haven't even figured out how I'm going to get to Suva, but that's ok I guess. We will figure things out soon!

But I've heard that Suva isn't the greatest place to stay in whilst being in Fiji but who knows? Maybe it will be ok, I hope it will be, and then the 4 weeks there will pan out fine. :)

But for now, I've got a whole load of planning and preparing to do first before I leave. A whole lot. :P

Overseas externship

florahui — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:41:00 GMT

Well off I go again. Except this time, I'll be going somewhere closer, in Fiji! I'll be gone for nearly 2 months, and it's not just for holidays so I'm sure it'll be a great experience.

I've been hearing bad things about the living conditions in Suva but I guess I will have to see for myself. I guess in all of Fiji, Suva is not the ideal location for a holiday but the 4 weeks I will be there will be an eye-opener for different reasons.

And then, I'll be travelling around in my spare time anyhow, so lots of places to go! It's a beautiful place, but I'm not sure I'll be bringing my SLR, it might be too many things to worry about, yet I want to capture the photos yet I also know I'll probably just have to live with the small Canon.

Deutschland!

florahui — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:31:00 GMT

I actually liked Germany the most. The cleanest, the most transport efficient, the friendliest and with some unbeatable bakeries, like in Wurzburg!!! Have to go there.. mmm. Must not drool.

I would also love to have a slight grasp to the language though of course, I can only say, "I would like this please."

And yes/no/thank you.. but still!

Would love to go back someday and spend more time there!

Would love to visit Wurzburg and Berlin again and around to some other places we didn't get to go to this time round.

And in a split second...

florahui — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:22:00 GMT

...you're back again.

I managed to not sign onto my journal at all during the time I was away. Damn! But I did take a gazillion photos and had a great time! I got sick with the flu (whee!) but I got over it eventually in sunny Rome and moderately sunny London.

Flying with Ryanair was possibly a bad idea. Although the flights are cheap and you did get there safely, the turbulence/slight free fall event was quite enough of an adrenaline rush for me. Poor air hostesses were still walking around when we dropped too, had to grab onto whatever they could to stop themselves from falling.

And then.. the BABY. The baby who was adorable and cute, until I got a splitting headache and she wouldn't stop crying for nothing in particular. I love those events. I eventually got a nosebleed and was feverently wishing for someone to decapitate me.

Also, sleeping in Orly Airport is a no no. Especially when you're sick and the bus is on strike and it's too late to take a train and you have to wait 30 minutes for a taxi. And then your flight is delayed by several hours. Whee. Got there eventually though!

Metro/Tube/whatever you want to call it, all was good, confusing system some places.. like eastbound/northbound/westbound/southbound.. :| but oh well, it's not that difficult. Cool metro stations in Paris, some you just must see!

Otherwise, very convenient. Singapore airlines was the best though. Nice onboard entertainment, good food, nice seats. Yay!

Flights to Singapore and Frankfurt were a bit of a killer though. Got too dehydrated. But we all survived!

And now. I must sleep. Just running on some left over sugar from some honey cashews I think.

So close!

florahui — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 22:46:00 GMT

We've been doing some more planning recently, and it used to seem so far away, but now, it's right on my doorstep! That's provided I get through my exams as well, you know ;)

But all this planning and booking.. it's all happening and I get all tingly inside thinking about it. It'll be such a culture attack in my head lol. I'll just take 5 million photos and then some more. :D

Now just to work out the little details.. :)

AND, I get to spend my 4th year anniversary with my boyfriend in Paris! :)

Phrasebook

florahui — Tue, 5 Dec 2006 20:33:00 GMT

It's hilarious. I'll probably have really patchy German by the end of this, capable of saying few things :P

But at least it is a bit of a recap for me for my French, ahhh, it's all coming back to me now...

Preparation

florahui — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:37:00 GMT

It all starts from here. The tickets are booked for June/July 2007 so now we just have to decide on everything else! Like accommodation, all the other flights we'll be going on and the places we want to go to!

And if I want to go somewhere with Kris :)

Southern China

florahui — Sat, 1 Jul 2006 19:19:00 GMT

Also during the summer. It was just a short stay at my aunt's place that she owned up in the mainland. It's a totally different culture to Hong Kong and I felt a lot more paranoid about my belongings for one thing!

The food can be great though, hygiene conditions can be lacking but still tend to be tolerable in most places. But still, they really do have some great food and that I can't deny!

It would be great to go further north someday, to plan a big trip around China to explore all the historical landmarks, just to know a bit more about my heritage.

Macau

florahui — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:23:00 GMT

They have a lot more casinos than when I first remembered. Of course I was a lot younger back then and didn't really care about the casinos. Well, I still don't actaully! But I take photos of them!

I didn't actually get to do much in Macau, we bought the usual souvenirs back to Hong Kong with us and I did get to watch a match from the 2006 FIFA world cup in the comfort of a hotel room and a real bed so that was good!

But being there were my two aunts and my grandma and my parents, that was a bit too cumbersome. I don't mind spending time with them but yeah, we didn't do much in the end!

We did eat quite a bit though .. but then I was eating for the whole trip to Hong Kong and still managed to lose weight!

Summer in HK

florahui — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 19:15:00 GMT

It was very bad. I had experienced it once before as a child but I was not prepared for this! It was just so humid, I felt like all I did everyday was sweat, shower, sweat again. Then step into the really strong air conditioning and cool down, freeze, then step outside and sweat again.
It was literally like you never had a shower 5 minutes after you had one. And you learned to love the air conditioner and prayed that it would never break.

But otherwise, it was great to be back :) despite the heat and all that jazz. Still nice to be on a holiday. I'm starting to know my way around!