Holiday pics: Sojourn in London

We were supposed to take a direct flight from Rome to Prague in the Czech Republic via Czech Air. Unfortunately, because the ringgit was sooooo small in value compared to the Euro, we didn't want to spend € 350.00 (RM 1550!!!!) for a mere two hour flight. So we decided to take the no-frills option: EasyJet. The only thing is that we have to fly to Gatwick in London first and then catch another flight to Prague 6 hours later. On the upside the whole thing only cost us £50.00 (RM350) per person. No kidding!

So, we woke up bright and early, took a final italian breakfast of toasted bread and cappuccino and caught the metro to the main bus station to Ciampino Airport. Even though the information desk at the Termini stated that the trip would take one hour, it didn't take into account the infamous Roman traffic jam. So what was supposed tbe an idyllic, relaxing one hour bus journey turned into a harrowing two and a half hour excursion into Italian hell as we feared we would actually miss our flight!

Luckily, we arrived at the airport by the skin of our teeth. Two hours later, we arrived in Merry Old England! Home of our former colonial masters. Land of the almighty Pound Sterling (£1 = RM6.50) etc. Anyway, when we arrived at the Customs checkpoint in Gatwick Airport, the lady officer was very interested to hear about our trek across Europe and suggested that since we had about 6 hours to kill before our next flight to Prague, we could hopto London for a quick tour.

So we enquired about the train service to the city centre and found two options. Gatwick Express which takes 20 minutes non-stop to reach Victoria Station; and Southern Express whnich takes 40 minutes and makes a few stops along the way. The other difference is Gatwick Express costs £23 return, while Southern costs £9.30. So guess which one we took. Quite frankly i don't know who in their right mind would take Gatwick Express???




The train ride was smooth, quiet and best of all, not crowded at all. It afforded us a chance to see London's suburbs which was rather dreary and dull. Well, compared to Italy, eberything else is dreary and drab. Anyway, exactly 40 minutes later, we arrived at Victoria Station in the heart of London.

And this is the scene that greeted us. My first impression of Victoria Station was one of 'orderly chaos'. A bit like Puduraya but brighter, cleaner and cooler. Oh, and it cost 30p (RM2) to use the toilet. BLoodsuckers! Anyway, after getting some bruchures and directions from the tourist information counter, Chris and I headed out into the streets to see where we could go to within the limited time that we had.


We decided to grab a bit to eat and went into a small 'inexpensive' looking deli and ordered a ham on rye sandwich and cappiccino each. It cost £7.50 (RM50). WAH LAU EH! I hate you, Goerge Soros!.... Well, I have to stop doing these mental conversions in my head, or else I will never be able to enjoy this trip.

We decided to walk to Buckingham Palace and kacau the beefeaters. Unfortunately by the time we got there, it was already closed for the day so this (left) was as close as we could get to the famed palace guards. There were quite a lot of tourists in Queen Victoria Memorial, the park outside the palace grounds that day - mostly Japanese and Taiwanese. We would've taken more pictures there but as people kept popping in and out of my field of view, it was rather frustrating to compose a proper picture on my camera's viewfinder.

Lots of big statues and monuments , of which I had no idea who or what they were. This one (right) is my favourite as there was a golden statue of an angel standing proud at the top of the monument.



Later, we crossed the road to Green Park which was true to its name, despite it being winter. In the middle of it was this funny looking 'fountain' which resembled the sharp ends of a pair of scissors. Chris was tempted to piss into it for the heck of it.......

A short walk further up the road, we came to another park, the famed St. James Park. Thnis is the city's oldest Royal park covering 23 hectares and is surrounded by three palaces, Westminster, St. James and Buckingham. In the centre of the park is a beautiful lake where ducks, geese and pelicans come to rest and feed.

These two ducks must have gotten used to the presence of humans as they actually waddled up close to us and even posed for pictures. Too bad we didn't bring any breadcrumbs to feed them for their effort. So cute! I shall never eat another pecking duck again.... until I get back to Malaysia. :-)

We took a nice walk around the lake and then it was time to get back to Gatwick Airport to catch the plane to Prague. All in all, a day very well spent. I know I shall visit London to do a proper visit soon.

Roma pics: The Colossuem

We couldn't go to Rome and not do the Colosseum, right? So, we did and on a cold and wet winter afternoon, we made our pilgrimage to the ancient ruins where Christian prisoners and lions were pitted against each other for the entertainment of the Roman mob. Built in AD70 during the rule of Emperor Vespasian and then Titus, this open air amphitheatre could house 50,000 spectators.


Nowadays, it attracts close to 5 million tourists a year. However today, the place wasn't very crowded. It's probably due to the cold and wet weather. There were a few local actors dressed up either as Roman soldiers or gladiators posing with tourists for photo-ops. We decided to forgo that as they charged € 10 per picture.

So we decided to just walk around taking pics of the ruins. Situated to the east of the Colosseum was the Roman Forum. It's the ruins of the ancient city of Rome where commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. It was destroyed and rebuilt with each succesive dynasty of Roman rulers with each Caeser and emperor eager to put a stamp of his own on the city. Various temples dedicated to this god and that can be found all over the complex in between government buildings and public bath houses.

As it was quite late, we could not enter the forum area (where most of the ancient Rome lies in ruins). We could however walk up a hill path to a small church at the peak where we could catch glimpses of the ruins.

It was a rather nice walk up as the weather was cool and it had stopped drizzling. The small church was actually rather unusual as there were 'altar houses' lining the path up to the main building where they kept the altars to the various saints.

And whoever did the interior decorating for the church must've had a really warped sense of humour for everywhere were images of the angel of death and skeletons holding sickles inside the church. It all gave the place a very eerie and ominous atmosphere and we decided to go in search of a more cheerful place. :-)

And this, my friend, is the Colosseum in all its glory - or rather, from the other side of the road. On our back to the hostel we each had a gelato and some really delicious pastry to celebrate the final day of our holiday in Rome. Onward to Prague!

Roma pics: Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel

The second time we went to the Vatican, we made sure we went there early (like 8.00am) to take our place in the line. But lo and behold, there was no line. I mean yes, once we got in, it was a bit crowded with visitors, but there really wasn't a visible queue to enter. Funny how a free entry can create such chaos the day before.

The Vatican museum had a special Egyptian Artifacts Exhibition goping on, but hey we're in Italy, not in Cairo. So we decided to hit the musuem proper first and see if we have time to do the Pharoahs later.

As I've been here before during my last trip to Italy way back in 2001, I wasn't as awestruck as Chris and Terry. Still, the frescoes and tapestries are very beautiful and interesting to learn about. Each and every exhibit is accompanied by a commentary detailing its identity and a little of its history - in six languages! (Italian, English, French, Japanese, Spanish and German) I'm impressed.

Perhaps the most famous artwork here can be found on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This is the painting which has God and Adam trying to touch each other with their index fingers. It was done by Michaelangelo between 1508 and 1512. THe room which houses the paiting is kept dim and visitors are not allowed to take any pictures of the ceiling art - flash or no flash. And that includeds camera phones. They really meant business because while we were there, quite a few 'rebels' who tried to secretly take a snapshot were chastised rather loudly by the guards. They really don't give face one!

There was also a wing housing modern art and there were quite a few really inspiring works of art like these you see here. This is a neo-classical stained glass of the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus. It's hauntingly beautiful in its simplicity, don't you think?









This is a very very large cross which commanded the attention of everyone who entered the room.
Well, this is the Vatican. Hmmm.... this'll look great in my living room, don'tcha think? Hehehehe












This is my favourite. It's a canvas art piece of two persons embracing. It evokes emotions of love, loyalty and desperation all at the same time. I think I stared at it for at least fifteen minutes.

And this is my favourite shot of the museum. Incidentally, the spiral stairs lead to the toilets. These italians really damm gaya!

Roma pics: The Vatican

Vatican City is such a big and photo-worthy place that we spent a total of two days there. It was beautiful, majestic, and of course crowded with tourists, clergymen and nuns. Quite understandably, there were queues as far as the eyes can see to enter anything and everything, even the toilets. In fact, on the first day we were there, the line to enter the Vatican Museum was so long, we had walk around the entire perimeter of the city walls (at least two to three miles long) in order to join the tail end of the queue. Apparently, it was free entry that day (every last Sunday of the month), so every tourist and local who thought it was a great way to save money, were there. So we ended up just going to St. Peter's Square and postponed the Museum till the next day.

Terry posing in St. Peter's Square. See the line of people waiting to enter the basillica? The entrance is actually to the far left of the picture. Yes, the queue was that long!

The main attraction here is of course St. Peter's basillica. It's a very large church said to house the remains of St. Peter and also the late Pope John Paul the II. It was built by the Roman Emperor Constantine when he converted to Christinaity in the 4th century. The jewel in this crown is of course the dome or 'cupola' designed by Michaelangelo. There is a viewing platform near the top of the dome, and to get up there, we had to trek up about 2000 really cramped steps (or thereabouts). But the view from the top was magnificent well worth the effort.

From the viewing deck, you could see the whole of Vatican City as well as most of Rome. The Vatican looks so orderly and clean in comparison to chaotic and ridiculously graffiti-laden Rome. Unfortunately, there were so many people up there that I got slightly claustrophobic. So, after just half an hour of gazing into the smog-filled Roman skyline, we made our way back down for a cappucino and ham focaccio.

This is the walled city of Vatican. Compare and contrast with the previous pic of the Roman skyline. But of course Rome wouldn't be Rome without its chaotic and narrow maze-like streets.

Afterwards, we walked around the city and found ourselves crossing the famous San Angelo bridge (re: Dan Brown's Angels and Demons) which led us to the San Angelo castle. The castle was used as the imperial mauseluem to Emperor Hadrian and the royal family. Later, during the Roman Catholic era , it was used as a refuge by the Pope who fled from the Vatican through the underground passage or 'Passetto" when the Vatican was under enemy attack.

It's a grand monument that's been built and rebuilt up to seven times that you can actually see the layers of previous construction underneath the current building. Actually, I think the Italians did a wonderful job ofconserving their national monuments and treasures. It gives the Eternal City a uniquely poignant character and atmosphere.

There are many bridges than span the River Tiber , both for pedestrians as well as for cars. On almost all them, there are statues flanking both sides of the bridges, some of them really ugly looking gargoyles, but most of them, awe-inspiring statues of angels and saints, like this one.

As the evening drew to a close, we ended our day with a cup of capuccino at an al fresco cafe by the riverside. Lovely. Just lovely.

Roma Pics: Day 2

The pension or hostel where we stayed in Rome was called Hotel Farini. The main reason why we chose this place was that it was situated just two blocks from the Roma Termini. And it was relatively cheap. Between the three of us, it only cost € 240.00 for the whole three days. Quite cheap by European standards. But the decor... well, let's just say that you get what you pay for.

The hostel occupies the top two floors of a three storey building and we had to enter the premise through an unassuming pre-war looking wooden door, along a rather creepily lit corridor and up a really ancient looking lift.

In order to use the lift, you have to open a metal gate, slide open the wooden doors, and then decide which two of you is going to enter first. Yes, it's that small. Then you have to close both the wooden door and metal gate before you can press any of the buttons - of which there were only three. "1', "2" and "3". I know Europe is trying to preserve its heritage but seriously, I think that this lift should be preserved - in a museum!

Our room overlooks the main street, but the window was bolted down for the winter, so I couldn't take any pics from there. Just about the only view we had was of the inner courtyard which we shared with the adjoining building which if I'm not mistaken is a police station! While I was taking pictures, this guy, presumably a 'polizia' officer, started yelling at me and waving his arms. Wah, take pictures also cannot meh?

Long Overdue - Holiday pics: Day 1

I went on a ten day holiday to Europe last Chinese New Year with Chris and Terry. Our itinerary was to do four days Rome and four days Prague. Our first day saw us flying from KL to Amsterdam on KLM and then after a three hour transit, to Rome, arriving there on an early Saturday morning.

Nothing much to talk about Amsterdam's Schipol airport except it's really really big and its layout is more complicated than KLIA (if that's possible). Oh, and we saw a little dutch mouse scurrying around the cafe where we were having a cuppa. It was searching for some warmth in the near-freezing cold terminal (outside temperature was -4ºC!) and ended up basking on the floor vents that was spewing warm air.

The flight to Rome was pretty empty. Not many Dutch or Italians believe in catching the early flight, I guess. Oh, On the flight to Rome, they served the best yogurt I've ever tasted, Hero's Blueberry flavoured Fruit Yogurt. Absolutely delicious and absolutely sinful. ;-)

On arrival in Rome's Fiumiccino Airport, we took the train to Roma Termini (like taking the KLIA express to KL Sentral). Roma Termini is really big and busy, a bit like Pudu only more modern and cleaner. And everything is understandably in Italian. Luckily we figured out that 'Uscita' means Exit, otherwise we'd still be hopelessly lost in the building.

After finally checking into the 'pension' and taking a much needed short nap to recharge our batteries, we decided to get some fresh Italian air at the Villa Borghese. Villa Borghese is a whole Lake Garden's type of place complete with really beautiful parks, footpaths, galleries and of course, the Villa itself. It once belonged to a Roman aristocrat who amassed a lifetime of renaissance art by the likes of Bernini and Caravaggio and is now open to the public.... for a fee of course. On the right is a sample of what I saw in the gallery - a 16th century oil painting by German artist Cranach of the Goddess Venus and her child Cupid. I guess paganistic Roman mythology was still alive and well in Roman Catholic Italy back then.....


Ok, enough about the gallery. What was most appealing about Borghese was the park itself. Trees everywhere with jogging paths that snake sthrough some of the most scenic woodland (Italian style); no wonder the Italians look so damm fit and attractive. The weather, the parks, the coffee..... sigh.

Oh, there was this big comemorative sculpture dedicated to Goethe.... hmmmm.... funny, I thought Goethe was German. Anyway,the sculpture was breathtaking in its detail and and the figures were so lifelike because they had really interesting facial expressions, not exactly happy faces though.


See what I mean about the facial expressions?

On our way out of the park, we chanced upon a bunch of hippie types offering pony rides. Chris was tempted to ride one.... nah.... but anyway, the pony looks so cute. Hehehe

What's in my iPod now.

I'm an iPod freak. And a sucker for commercial music ie. I can't get enough of the current pop music scene. I tried to be more 'cultured' and embrace classical music. I even bought the Dummies book for it. But try as I might, while it does soothe my savage soul after a hard day's work, Beethoven and Dvorak (pronounced as vor-zhak... see I told you I did my homework) somehow can't ignite the same passion that I have for pop music. So give me Kelly Clarkson anytime over Chopin and to prove it, here's what's been playing ad nauseum in my iPod these past few weeks:

1. "Must Be Doing Something Right" - Billy Currington
Billy who? Ok, here's the thing. I love country ballads and this latest offering by country's newest hunk is nothing short of heavenly. It's a typical dittie where the man sings about being clueless as to what a woman wants from him... but since she's with him now, he ... well... "'must be doing something right'.

2. "Check On It" - Beyonce
Don't you just love it when the former lead singer of Destiny's Child shakes it all for the whole wide world to see? I mean that bootee of hers should be insured for at least a million dollars. I love this song for its oh-so-catchy chorus and I am still trying to memorise the words to it so that I can warble my way into showertime bliss. Hehe

3. "Red Dress" - Sugababes
New 'babe Amelle Berrabah picks up where icequeen Mutya Buena (where do they find these girls - Greenland??) left off in the third single off the 'Taller In More Ways' album. It's a fun song in the way brainless UK pop songs are and yet, their credibility as 'serious' music makers seem not to have been dented one bit. And they say the Brits have no sense of humor.

4. "Dejate Llevar" - Ricky Martin
Leaving the emaciated look he sported in 'I Don't Care' behind, a slightly beefier Ricky Martin returns to a more familiar turf - latin-tinged pop manic in the vein of Livin' La Vida Loca and Shake Your Bon-bon. I absolutely love the video to this one especially the part where he lets a stream of milk flow across his torso all the way down to a billboard of a girl below him.... perhaps an allusion to the recent snafu regarding his 'golden showers' remark, hmmm?

5. "Walk Away" - Kelly Clarkson
And the hits just keep on coming for the original American Idol and Grammy Pop Vocal Album winner. This is yet another gem from her classic sophomore album 'Breakaway'. I guess breaking away from the 19 production house and Simon Cowell's clutches really is better for her career. Ruben and Fantasia, please take note.

Also-rans: "The Real Thing" - Bo Bice; "Sorry" - Madonna; "Tonight I Wanna Cry" - Keith Urban (told ya I am a sucker for country ballads! ); "Pretty Vegas" - INXS and last but not least, "Temperature" - Sean Paul.

Much ado about Brokeback

Ok, here's the deal. I think 'Crash' has got to be the worst choice for Best Picture the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ever made. It sits right up there (or down below) with other royal stinkers like "Shakespeare In Love" and "Dances With Wolves". And that they actually decided to ignore other more deserving nominees like Brokeback Mountain, Munich and Capote is beyond my understanding.

Brokeback Mountain: Admittedly, this is actually a rather simple story about two people secretly in love (lust?) despite being married to other people. While production values including the choreography was stunning (even better than Memoirs of A Geisha) and the acting was commendable (Michelle Williams was robbed!), what made this film work was its excellent direction by a very deserving Best Director winner, Ang Lee. Everything fell into place, from the sunrise drive down a dusty road opening scene to the now infamous "I wish I knew how to quit you" tearjerker moment, making Jack's And Ennis' heartaches as palpable as if you were really there. It's interesting to note that had the main characters been heterosexual, this film might not have received as much attention that it had. In the end, what made people sit up and take notice of this movie was sadly also the cause of its failure to win the Big Prize.

Munich : Any other year, Spielberg would have run circles around the other nominees with this taut and revealing thriller. I can say that it ranks among his best works, Schindler's List and ET. Eric Bana was a joy to watch as the conflicted leader of a Mossad-like squad of assasins investigating the terrorist killings of the Israeli team at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Its subject matter was controversial to say the least and angered a lot of political groups both Jewish and Palestinian; perhaps that's why , in view of the current volatile political climate, the voters decided not to give this film any more attention that it already has.

Capote : The whole of this movie's brilliance can be summed up in one name: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. This brilliant character actor has been getting choice supporting roles for the past ten years in a string of Oscar nominated films like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain and my favourite performance of his, Boogie Nights. In this tour-de-force lead performance, he gives it his all and is so convincing, it gave me goosebumps everytime I watched the film. In any other year, Capote would have won Best Picture hands down but in a year so dominated by gay-themed films, it was invetible some worthy films would fall by the wayside. Well, at least it can boast of a Best Actor win.

Crash: Where do I begin on how undeserving this Best Picture winner is? From the annoying Officer Ryan played by an equally annoying Matt Dillon to the improbable yet stereotypical racially charged dialogue that the LA bigoted characters spout out like free candy, it was painful to watch and did I say Matt Dillon is annoying?

The Academy voters could have shown its maturity in taste and honoured a more deserving nominee like Capote or show that it does not shy away from controversial subject matters (Munich or Brokeback), but no, it decided that a bi-polar story of racial bigotry that's neither realistic nor engaging is the best movie released last year. What a cop-out.

Who are 'they'??!?

It never fails to amuse me that a lot patients who come in each day try to justify their reluctance to have their teeth cleaned (aka scaling or oral prophylaxis etc.) by saying that 'they' say cleaning teeth makes their teeth wear out faster.

Well, so can brushing your teeth, dear. Or drinking Coke every day. Or mixing ash with your toothpaste (as some Indians do).

When I then ask these patients who 'they' are, they are stumped for an answer and then sheepishly say that it was their neighbour, or their grandmother or their seamstress etc; none of whom happen to be qualified dentists or dental hygienists. But, these patients would explain the reason they say so is because these people have also have had their teeth cleaned, and therefore would be 'qualified' to dispense such advice.

Hmmm....Ok.... So say my car has a breakdown one day and I have to send it to my mechanic for repairs. Would I then be 'qualified' to dispense advice on what kind of repairs are necessary to any of my friends who have the same misfortune in the future? In other words, would you seek the opinions of a person who owns a car or a mechanic when it comes to auto repair?

To be fair, going for scaling too often (as in everyday) may cause more harm than good, but then again, if you breathe 100% Oxygen, it will also kill you. Does that mean we should avoid breathing O2 altogether?

See my point?

So, moral of today's story is: Do everything in moderation, listen to advice from qualified sources and not every dentist is out to fleece you.

P.S. Sorrylah, just need to release tension a bit.... Today's patients a bit trying on the nerves.