flirting with the romantic side of europe!

czech has long been in my wishlist but somehow i didnt manage to go until a week ago. czech is so different from other european nations i have visited. the country is extremely beautiful and being a budget traveller, it is a dream destination... everything is so cheap! a superb bohemian dinner (with czech beer of course) costs not more than 7 pound. for 8 days, i used less than 200 pound for souvenirs, transportations, entrance fees and meals.

i kicked off my czech expedition at the world renowned city, prague. somehow... i'd feel like i was in korea rather than in an european country. i saw koreans everywhere!! i'm 100% sure they are korean. why? japanese are more polite and talk with manner and 10 out of 10 korean aunties perm their hair (is it a culture thing? no idea). back to prague... the city is so inspiring and absolutely romantic! the city is just like a painting...

Prague Castle

St. Vitus Cathedral

Prague Castle

vltava river, prague

church of st nicholas

charles bridge

prague city

on day three, i took a bus to south bohemia and visited ceske budejovice and cesky krumlov. ceske budejovice is the home to the famous beer, budweiser. i have lost count on how many bottles/ glasses i have drank in czech. ceske budejovice is a nice city but nothing to be amazed. the story is kinda different with cesky krumlov. the town is so charming (of all the old towns i have visited in europe, only bruges in belgium can rival this place). for those who are planning to go to czech, make sure you include this charming town in your itinerary. i'd feel like i'm there to film a fairytale.

ceske budejovice

cesky krumlov

day four, i explored two charming towns, telc and trebic. telc is the home to a very beautiful town square. telc is listed in unesco world heritage list. trebic is famous for its old jewish quarter which is also a unesco world heritage site. it was my first time visiting a jewish area (hope my muslim friends wont hate me for it). beside the jewish quarter, trebic also has a very beautiful square and basilica.

telc

trebic

on day five, after checked-in at the executive room at holiday inn brno, i took 1 hour bus ride to komeriz. the chateau in komeriz is listed in unesco world heritage list. komeriz is a very relaxing town with beautiful park and garden. after done exploring komeriz, i took another bus ride and arrived 1 and a half hours later at olomouc. olomouc is an extremely beautiful city (100 times better than ceske budejovice and brno). the city has many squares, fountains and architecture wonders. i snapped more than 100 pictures at the main square (horni namesti) alone. the holy trinity column is so damn cool! but somehow, olomouc isnt a very popular tourist spot. it should deserves the limelight like other czech cities.

komeriz

olomouc

day six, i explored lednice, a small town in the south of brno. sadly, the beautiful chateau was on renovation. to be honest, the nearby park isnt as interesting as described. i should have visited the nearby town (valtice) as well. from pictures, valtice seems to be a very nice place for a spring afternoon walk. anyway, i spent the rest of the afternoon at brno city.

lednice

brno

on day 7, i spent the morning in litomysl. i really like litomysl. the chateau is a unesco world heritage site. it isnt a very big or grand castle but very pretty. i will let my pictures below do the talking.

litomysl

day 8, i explored the famous kutna hora. the town is the home to a very eerie and spooky church/ ossuary. bones are used to decorate the church! it definately not a place to go after dark. the town also has many other interesting churches/ cathedrals.

kutna hora

czech has so much to offer! the whole country has many interesting attractions and so much to learn and of course, good beer! after spent slightly more than a week in czech, i finally understand why everyone wanna go there! the country is so beautiful and fit everyone's budget. i didnt need to spend a fortune to enjoy the best in the country! czechs are helpful and friendly which made my whole trip even more meaningful. folks... start planning your czech exploration now and i am sure you wont regret!

for more photos, click here.

kenneth, the travel adviser!

my friends always think i'm a bloody rich f**ker! they always questioning me on how can i afford all those trips. when come to travelling, i have many hidden secrets. those secrets helped me to travel to many places but using very minimum $$$. i won't use more than 600 euro per trip (7-8 days trip). europe isnt as expensive as everyone thinks. when i was told some people used up to 20,000 ringgit for three weeks travelling in europe, i was quite stunned. the friend told me, the 20,000 ringgit not included gucci and lv purchased. 20,000 ringgit? for three weeks? a bit too much... i might be using just 600 euro per trip but i'm still staying at crowne plaza, hilton, hyatt etc and eating good food!

lately, many of my friends started coming to me for advises. here are some of those travelling tips in europe. hope they can help you plan your next european adventure better and cheaper!

1) cheap air fare,
some of you might not believe it, but yes... one way ticket within europe can be as cheap as 1 pound. i've booked many before. always check ryanair.com for the promotion. easyjet.com and jet2.com are two others cheap solution. if a return ticket within europe costs more than 50 euro, i consider it as expensive.

2) plan trip 2-3 months ahead
always plan your trip at least 2 months before the travelling date for cheaper air tickets, train tickets and hotel rooms. many deals/ packages are normally on offer two months before.

3) book ahead - train & bus tickets
if you coming to uk and wanna explore the country by train or bus, always book your tickets at least 1 month before the travelling date. for example, london - oxford by train, if you purchase the ticket one month before the travelling date, the ticket will only cost you 4 pound but if you purchase the ticket on the travelling day, it will cost you 19.90 pound. same goes to train fares in france, italy and many european countries. is always better to purchase all your tickets (online) before start travelling to save money and time. bus ride in europe can be extremely cheap. long distance bus tickets within uk can be as low as 1 pound.

4) say no to hostels
im those people who wont stay in a hostel rooms. waking up in the middle of the night, go out from the room and look for a toilet isnt something i wanna experience. hostel is so inconvenience!!! i normally spend less than 50 euro per night per room. 50 euro is more than enough to get a clean and comfortable room but my 50 euro can get me further. 50 euro is enough to get a 3-4 star hotel room. when you share with a friend, it just gonna cost you 25 euro. hostels arent as cheap as you think! it costs around 20 euro per person per night at major european cities. if you are not travelling alone, it is better to have a room, with built in shower/ bathtub and toilet. hotwire.com is the solution for cheap accommodations. also try ibishotels.com and ichotelsgroup.com.

5) entrance tickets
some tourist attractions have online discount. is worth checking online before travelling. is also advised to book tickets online especially for famous attraction like versailles, eiffel tower, colosseum, louvre etc (i hate queuing). to view the last supper mural at milan, book your ticket at least 30 days before the visiting day.

if you need more advises or want me to check tickets or hotels for your trip, feel free to ask... i love doing it!

happy travelling!

italy.... a dream or a disaster?

italy has always been the dream of most travellers... when you ask them where he/ she wanna go, they will say rome, venice, pisa, milan and so on. the question here, is italy really a dream destinatian? i just came back from 9 days backpacking in the region of rome, lazio and campania and for me, italy is indeed very beautiful but i will think twice before going there again. the reason: italians are rude and not friendly! with thousand and thousand of tourists flooding in everyday, they should be friendly and helpful in every aspect. if you think french are rude, italians are 10 times worst. apart from the people, italy is an extremely interesting country to visit, the most interesting among all the european countries. i also have to give credit to italian cuisine... the pasta and pizza tasted absolutely fabulous (much better than those i tasted in uk)... and gelati, the little devil which brings you to heaven! wish i can have it now...

ps... italy is pretty dirty as well!

conclusion, it surely not a dream destination but a must visit!

to be a dream destination, the place gotta be beautiful, people gotta be friendly and the food gotta be great.... for me, only paris meets all the criteria (at least i didnt meet any rude ppl when i was there).

msc offshore and environmental technology

after struggled for a year, this is what i got....

before i came here (newcastle), i have a job that i love and colleagues i adore. 3 months have gone (since i got my uk working visa) but i'm still jobless. maybe i have made a wrong decision. if i didn't come here, i might still be working for technip and getting my monthly salary without much to worry. have i really made a wrong decision?

some of my friends said they wanna be me... can travel in europe and experience different things in life. wondering whether they wanna be me now... a jobless person!! whenever i get into msn or facebook, my friends will ask me on my job hunting and i'm tired of saying i'm still jobless.

i didn't sleep well in the past few weeks. my family is urging me to go back to malaysia. i love europe and i really don't wanna leave now. i haven't seen prague, madrid, helsinki, budapest.... i know i can always come back to europe again but it won't be that easy especially when i'm getting pay in ringgit.

these days, i'm waking up everyday and hoping i will get a call for interview... i really need some good news soon or else, i really need to pack my things (i really don't want this to happen).

1st day of 2010

Enjoying the first day of 2010..... at Heaton Park, Newcastle (behind my house)

goodbye 2009, hello 2010...

a few more days, 2009 will be a history. when i looked back at 2009, i was rather proud and excited. 2009 is one of the years that i wont be able to forget... just way too many great things happened. what actually happened?

well.... i finished my master degree without any major problem (i gotta thanks a few friends... they helped me a lot). the best part, i graduated with distinction (1st class honor). something i didn't really expect to get. i actually did quite badly in a few subjects... 54/ 100 for a law subject (i guess that is the result of asking an engineer to take a law subject). anyway, i'm still really proud of myself. my supervisors really love my work/ dissertation.

travelling has always been the biggest passion in my life. this passion has leaded me to visit various amazing destinations in europe and asia in 2009. i have never visited 9 different countries in one single year (excluding uk) before but i done it in 2009. i also visited many interesting places in uk. there is only one place i yet to explore in uk... wales! something i should do in 2010. so, where have i explored in 2009? i explored...

jan - scotland, liverpool & leeds
feb - london
mar - east austria
apr - south england, netherlands
jun - belgium
jul - scotland highland & west germany
aug - sweden
sep - north vietnam
nov - france & north east spain
dec - north italy

well... how can i've visited so many places in one year? most of my friends are still curious. i guess that is the best part of being a student! i think i won't be able to travel that much in 2010 but i have the never say never spirit and let's hope i can explore more places in europe in 2010. i have actually planned a few places to go in 2010....

feb - central italy
mar - switzerland (skiing.... yippee)
apr - czech republic
jun - portugal (for a wedding)

before that, i desperately need a job in uk... which is also my main goal for the new year or else, i will have to pack my things and fly back to malaysia for good (god, please help me... i don't wanna go back to malaysia).

as a big supporter of unesco's world heritage sites, i visited 56 sites in 2009. i bet chee kin yin is cursing me now!!!

new lanark, united kingdom
liverpool – maritime mercantile city, united kingdom
studley royal park including the ruins of fountains abbey, united kingdom
saltaire, united kingdom
tower of london, united kingdom
canterbury cathedral, st augustine's abbey, and st martin's church, united kingdom
historic centre of vienna, austria
palace and gardens of schönbrunn, austria
semmering railways, austria
city of bath, united kingdom
stonehenge, avebury and associated sites, united kingdom
blenheim palace, united kingdom
royal botanic gardens, kew, united kingdom
droogmakerij de beemster (beemster polder), netherlands
defence line of amsterdam, netherlands
mill network at kinderdijk-elshout, netherlands
flemish béguinages, belgium
belfries of belgium, belgium
historic centre of brugge, belgium
plantin-moretus house-workshops-museum complex, belgium
la grand-place, brussels, belgium
major town houses of the architect victor horta, belgium
notre-dame cathedral in tournai, belgium
zollverein coal mine industrial complex in essen, germany
castles of augustusburg and falkenlust at brühl, germany
aachen cathedral, germany
cologne cathedral, germany
upper middle rhine, germany
würzburg residence with the court gardens and residence square, germany
town of bamberg, germany
abbey and altenmünster of lorsch, germany
speyer cathedral, germany
rock carvings in tanum, sweden
birka and hovgården, sweden
skogskyrkogården, sweden
hanseatic town of visby, sweden
mining area of the great copper mountain in falun, sweden
royal domain of drottningholm, sweden
ha long bay, vietnam
paris, banks of the seine, france
palace and park of fontainebleau, france
palace and park of versailles, france
chartres cathedral, france
cathedral of notre-dame, former abbey of saint-remi and palace of tau, reims, france
amiens cathedral, france
works of antoni gaudí, spain
palau de la música catalana and hospital de sant pau, barcelona, spain
la lonja de la seda de valencia, spain
mudejar architecture of aragon, spain
historic walled town of cuenca, spain
archaeological ensemble of tárraco, spain
venice and its lagoon, italy
city of verona, italy
city of vicenza and the palladian villas of the veneto, italy
Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, italy
crespi d'adda, italy

hope i can maintain the record in 2010.

what else happened in 2009? mmmm... i went back to malaysia for a short break (in september) and met my beautiful niece for the first time. that little devil is so cute and funny. i was the baby in the family and suddenly there is a real baby in the house... rather awkward! anyway... having her in the family is quite a good thing... why? at least my mom will nag me lesser! on my next trip back to kuantan, she will be calling me uncle (when i last met her a few months ago, she was only able to call mama and papa)... anyway, wondering what my reaction will be when she calls me uncle!

since i left malaysia for my study in uk, i have been missing my friends in malaysia dearly. meeting them again during my trip back to malaysia was another great moment for me in 2009. many things have chanced since i left, pipeline department is no longer in wisma technip. anyway, i still miss my life at technip. wondering whether my ex-boss willing to take me back or not????

so, my hope for 2010.... get a good job in europe! my other dreams and targets won't be able to take place without a proper job. therefore, i hope i can start 2010 with a job offer! wish me luck folks!

back to where i belong...

life is kinda strange.... sometimes, you just dont know what will be coming! i guess that is the beauty of being a human. a year ago, when i was leaving malaysia for uk, i didnt expect myself to come back here a year later. somehow, my sister offered me a return ticket to come back. after a year in europe, such offer was so welcoming. i wanted so badly to see my parents again, not to mention my new born niece (she is such a cutie)!

the past 3 weeks have been really amazing! i was able to do my duty as a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, an ex lover and an ex-colleague. sometimes, i really feel guilty and upset for not being able to give my parents more. for now, i can only offer them love, pure love. what they have given me, i think i have to use my whole life to repay! i love them, i really do! i cried when i was sitting in the bus and seeing my mother standing at the platform.

gosh! my friends and ex-colleagues are still funny and crazy! i was so happy to meet them again. we laughed like mad! thanks guys for updating me on what have happened when i was away. i cant wait to see you guys again next year. i have started to miss you guys. those who will be getting marry, hope you guys will have a great wedding. to all my friends, please stop asking me about marriage again. it isnt in my mind yet!

before coming back to malaysia, i prepared a list of things to eat! i was able to eat most of the things in the list but i guess i came back in the wrong time (bulan puasa)... i have to cross out nasi dagang and nasi minyak from the list. anyway, im quite satisfy! i ate a few bowl of my beloved pan mee and hokkien mee.

the coming tuesday, i will be leaving malaysia again. i guess every good thing comes to an end! i do hope all these great times can stay forever. too bad, i really have to leave but im sure i will come back again, to the land which have given me so much!