Journey of the mind

When times get tough, I am often the most optimistic of the lot, at times seemingly brinking on being overly naive even as chided by my close friends.

What is the point in looking for darkness in the world of gloom? We are all surrounded by gloom. Or at least the human perception veers us towards the point of gloom whenever we are down. Why look for it when we feel burdened by it already?

Must we still rub salt in our own wounds?

It takes strength to look beyond what appears before us to envision what we hope to achieve. The more we hope for, the greater our risk of disappointment.

Therefore it takes more courage to dare to dream than to wallow in gloom.

No I am not being naive or superficial as I may seem. I dare to hope because I know what may be my cost of disappointment. I want to dream because that is how far I will go.

And it is because I have been into the valley of doom, that steers me clear from the path of self destruction. The human mind is a mighty machine. Tune it so that it steers you towards where you want to go. Master it so that your mind does not control your fears.

I so fear to drown, that I swim furiously to keep myself afloat. Look for the glimmer of hope that keeps the spirit alive. And have the courage to accept what we have been endowed with.

And in the midst of it all, remember that above all, there is Love. Which warms the heart and nourishes the soul, that we may rest to journey the rest of the way.

Old Airport Road Hawker Centre

The Old Airport Road Hawker Centre is back with a bang after relocation and refurbishment.

The last time I was here, hardly a quarter of the current stalls were tenanted and I recall missing the old stalls at the old site.

Made a trip here last night and lo and behold! What a lovely sight of crowds and fully tenanted stalls - some old some new. My eyes shifted quickly to look for familiar faces, while soaking in the sights of the new. Exciting!

3 of us managed CKT, HKM, bbq stingray, thai cuttlefish, porridge, satay, chicken wings and belgian chocolate waffles. And beer of course. I am planning already what I have to eat on my next visit...

Sitting on the fence

I sat on the line on this one for a long time. Wavered to and fro, relooking at the possibilities from all possible angles.

When I made my choice, it chewed me up, and spat me out. And I shifted my decision to the other side.

Whatever it might me, a choice was made and I'll have to move forward from here.

Some part of me is afraid, some part of me is excited. Right now, there is more fear than excitement.

Park Guell

This is Park Guell a huge park located in the city of Barcelona.

Mr Guell was a rich man who lived in Barcelona a long long time ago. As the city of barcelona grew and grew, crowding out the streets from La Rambla and the old city quarters, he realised that people were losing more and more of park spaces and their opportunity to interact with nature.

Mr Guell was a rich man for his time. He envisioned building a park in the city of Barcelona, to give to the people a place where there is much greenery to reside in.

He found a huge piece of land atop of a VERY steep hill just 10 minutes from the city (by 2008 metro). There are escalators built on these roads to help people get to the park. The downward journey is manual gear all the way though. Hope this picture means something to you about angles.

Mr Guell had a good friend Gaudi who was a famous artist. Very famous artist who had a soft spot for lizards and amphibians. You can see the trademark iguana in most of his works.

Gaudi agreed to design a park for Mr Guell who would in turn sell it to residents who can enjoy the park at leisure.

But for some reason the private housing project didnt quite take off and the hill top was converted into a public park instead for the enjoyment of all the residents in Barcelona.

Below I sat in the shade listening to some excellent sax performance from this guy while taking a break fm the 38 degree C heat.

What you see are the whimsical Gaudi designs created more than 100 years ago. I still stand back and look in awe and amazement at Gaudi's creativity and foresight 100 years later in 2008. Timeless and whimsical. His designs have transcended all barriers across time and space.

Isn't it amazing how much can be said without the need for words?

Art Music and Love. Some things that need so little to mean so much.

Isabella

Shanghai is a city of wonders and amazements.


We went to this wonderful little enclave of traditional non-discreet houses. Nestled amongst these little habitats of traditional shanghainese households is Trattoria Isabella. A warm cosy little italian restaurant tucked away in this row of houses.

It preserved the external facade of traditional houses while the interior had been completely revamped to mark the homely feel of an italian eatery.

This is the bread basket, had my fav starter of tomatoes and mozzarella, beef rolls with warm melted cheese, and some fantastic very al dente pasta.

I must have been famished that afternoon for I'd clean forgotten to take a shot of the starter and mains! OMG!


This Italian beer topped off the meal, followed by some wonderfully home brewed espresso.



What more could I say?

Except of course that dinner was about 3 hours away. Burp!

In transit - Madrid

Backdated post


In transit - Madrid

Couldn’t take a side trip out of Madrid airport as the city is an hour away. With only 4.5 hours transit time, I couldn’t afford to take the risk. 2 hours spent travelling, leaves me only 1.5 hours max in the city for exploration. I decided to just try to get some rest in the airport.

So here I am pounding these entries. No way to get any rest. Too tired to read, yet too uncomfortable to sleep.

I am also thinking if I should get something to eat. I am still very full from all that german stuff I ate earlier, no point trying to stuff myself. Yet I am worried should I get hungry tonight… Oh what to do? Think I’ll just sleep hungry if need be. Maybe at La Coruna later I might just get something to store just in case.

I just dread the periods of malnutrition I get when travelling alone. Too dehydrated most of the time. And irregular meal times.

I sure hope breakfast is provided. And that the hotel is decent too.

It’s 8pm and the sun is still shining so brightly. Looks like 4pm, just cooler. I wonder what time’s sunset nowadays. The weather gets a little chilly towards the evening. It was fiery hot when I arrived at 4 this afternoon.

Looks like this is what I can expect for the next couple of weeks. La coruna is much cooler, so look out for freezing toes and fingers.

I wonder what the people here do with such long summer days. What activities are carried out in summer and are the malls open till late? What time does the sun set and what time is dinner?

I highly suspect lunch is 2-4 and dinner is sometime 8-9pm. Well I’ll sure find out soon enough.

I hope the I find the driver at La Coruna easily enough…. Tired already. And here’s to an early 845am pick up tomorrow.

German Canine Residents

Backdated Post


German canine residents

The city council of Frankfurt makes an effort to incorporate its canine citizens / residents into its town planning. See the traffic light buzzer? These are prevalent throughout the city, and it’s got a picture of adults, children and dogs! So cute!





And I saw residents bringing their canine companion going to the bakery to get their morning breakfast. And a beagle taking the train in the city. It was going sniff sniff here there everywhere at the plat form. No one batted an eyelid. It was as though the beagle had its perfect right to be part of the city. The dog has a resident status, so he should be entitled to public transport don’t you think?

At the train platform I encountered my first gypsy on the trip. Asking for alms with her daughter. Me is easy target so no choice la. She pointed to her daughter, and to an empty milk bottle. After I gave her some money she looked at my weiner and asked to have some. Woa! So I pointed to my tummy and said no. Fortunately she walked away.


At the airport, I saw this poodle at the check in counter. I wonder how he was travelling. Business or economy? As he trotted around the departure hall, no one batted an eyelid either. Canines have earned their resident status in the city of Frankfurt. And I credit their owners for making it possible, and the city’s residents for according such status to the canine community. This is truly an integrated tolerant culture within a beautiful city.

When will Singapore ever achieve this status as a livable city?