frank does not like binding beer

frankfurt is not agreeing with me in many counts it seems.

the weather has been bleary, drizzling the whole day long and just being in a linken-mode... (ie. pms plus brain cancer)

spent the morning heading to the art museum where i painfully parted with 10 fricking euros to see the exhibition. i kinda think i'm mad. spent 3 hours there admiring paintings until i got sick of madonnas, altar paintings and silly contemporary paitings resembling splatters and lines on the wall before heading to eat a meal near the hostel.

then headed down to bergerstrasse where *surprise! frankfurtens also can have a helluva fun! everyone was thronging the streets, listening to street perfomances, drinking tons of not-very-tasty binding beer, eating different kinds of german food as well as the odd sushi/wok bar.

so yeah.. i finally found some life in frankfurt after two dismal days of prancing the streets, wanting to return to munich for a hofsbrau brew and a schintzel.. lol.. frankfurt ain't very interesting still but oh wellz.. tmr is time to head back to the land of the free and.. study. -_-

frank in frankfurt

last two days of my german tour liaoz.. finally back at frankfurt.. and for a city that uses my name, it's kinda.. drab. lol

staying at a hostel situated right next to the hauptbanhof after sending joshie off to the aiport. yeah.. i'm officially traveling alone now.. haha.. and going broke as well. -_- not a nice situation to be in..

oh wellz.. it's not so bad.. probably will be walking around the city, sniffing the trees (right, ernie?) and yeah, NO MORE BEER. lol.. so damn ex, haha... i'm sticking to plain tap water liaoz i think.. lol

more photos soon i guess, once i have the energy to upload everything and so on.. which means probably in US le.. i've thoroughly enjoyed myself in germany, with the pretty waitresses, great (but ex) food, quaint medieval cities, dream castles.. haha.. and grimy frankfurt. =)

oh.. and in response of someone's blog post..

the mandatory surfing shot?.. lol

fussen, augsburg, rothenburg

past few days have been no-free-wireless internet days and hence no updates.. lol

aniwez it's reaching the tail end of my trip and yeah.. here comes the time when i start obsessing about how i spent so much in such a short time and worrying about how to ration out my remaining money. -_-

aniwez, rothenburg is a beatitful, old medieval walled city that's simply irresistably charming.. but haha.. i'd leave the elaboration to next time.. (i'm not alvin tng.. lol!)

snapshots of previous days..

dorint sofitel!


chilling out at classy nido cafe (where we ate the most expensive lunch -_-)


surfing along Eisbach River, Amazing Race Style


munich skies are beautiful


alpsee river, schwangau, near neuschwanstein


schwangau means swan..


me standing on a precarious marienbrucke bridge overlooking neuschwanstein castle


neuschwanstein.. fantasy castle


hohenschwangau castle, king ludwig's youthtime castle

munchen - where anything is good enough a reason to party and drink

i hate this stupid wireless access cos it is so blardy intermittent. -_-

aniwez, today was like the grand tour of munchen where we explored the whole marienplatz (the city center) as well as the neighboring areas, explored 70 odd rooms in the residenz in a blustering pace, toured around yet another few million churches, took a bike ride round town, drank ourselves bored at the chineesch turm @ englischer gardens, partook in the munchen festivies and retraced the amazing race 3 route!

haha.. for those who have no inkling of what i said, well, basically i visited this river in the city where water flowed so rapidly it created this standing wave which surfers took the opportunity to hone their skills and surf right in the middle of land locked munchen! haha.. think liksin would be very interested in this. apparently, flo and zac came here to get a fastforward before heading for fussen, germany (coincidentally our next stop) -- think GY will remember all too well. lol.. haha dun be jealous!

i realized muncheners are like.. quite power man.. they drink all day, partake in festivities, dances, parties, and basically have a helluva time in the riotous city center. the marienplatz was like super crowded with so many people, it resembled some fair grounds. the lively atmosphere was infectious and everyone was pretty much cheery, happy (maybe drunk). lol.

aniwez, got one and a half more day here to soak up more of the atmosphere and try all the various foodstuff here! liksin dun be jealous hor! haha... it's dorint sofitel day tmr!! bwahaha

dachau looks like telok kurau

hallo! i've reached munchen though not before paying a visit to Dachau. Mention Dachau and the history students would gawp and conjure up images of torture camps, gas chambers and whatsitnot that fits with their concentration camp schema.

actually, dachau in itself is a tidy, quiet surburban area that really resembles telok kurau in many spots, something i pointed out to joshie as we embarked on a STUPID 3KM walk from the haupbanhoft to the concentration camp via this "path of remembrance". -_- yeah and I was the one who suggested it.

wellz aniwez, it was impressionable because it was the exact path the Dachau prisoners marched from the train station to the camps. 3km. without food or whatever. hmmz.

well whatever pleasant feeling i had quickly ebbed away when i entered the concentration camp. despite the cheery blue skies and the breezy wind, somehow there was this pressing, stifling feeling of disgust, horror and anger that permeated the grounds as one realised how the whole place was a torture and killing factory.

we viewed the barracks, meant for 200 but fit 2000, then viewed the crematorium and even entered a gas chamber which was thankfully not used in those times. yet, being in the EXACT rooms depicted in videos showing unspeakable horrors and piles of mutilated bodies just makes just about anyone feel disturbed.

so it was with heavy hearts that we left dachau and headed for munchen. and the weather seemed to agree with us as it fouled up and started pouring as we reached Marienplatz, the city center. so no choice, haha, eat @ burger king where YET AGAIN there isn't turkey bacon double meal or mushroom swiss!!! argghhh!

and now its back at the hostel. which IS really a judgengasthaus (youth hostel) cos it really does have quite alot of activities and has youth. haha.. quite unlike the youth hostel in berlin. nice to be able to stay in a whole range of accomodations.. can't wait for DORINT SOFITEL day. lol

can't wait for tommorow as well... ciao!

bumbling round bamberg

greetings from bamberg.

rite now using this tistchy, irritating keyboard at the hotel lobby that somehow ahas swapped the locations of the y key and the z key. man..

aniwez bamberg is a quaint little town nestled along a river with nice cobbled streets, narrow alleyways, fantastic cathedrals and just the nice fuzzy old town feeling that people would want to retire in.

i noe my mom in particular would LOVE THIS PLACE with two beautiful rose gardens perched upon a beautiful hilltop view of the city. i love it here too with all the breezy cafes located rite next to the gardens! =) wunderbar!

managed to cover the attractions within one day then happily rest @ the hotel before heading out for lunch after the rain. aaaah.. such is life! =)

next stop, munich!

day 3 - even a castle needs a wash from time to time

greetings from germany!

now blogging @ my hostel room at Letterstrasse, which is a really hip cool district filled with bars, cafes and other intriguing shops. past two days have been really hectic and tiring, and the whole walking around berlin and entering single museum stint made me utterly tired by the time we reached back the hostel. -_-

aniwez today was Potsdam day, where we woke up early and took a train down to Potsdam to go see the San Souci Park. talking about trains reminds me of a few peculiarities i've observed about the Germans.

1. there are absolutely no ticket gantries in the s-bahn or u-bahn, u can get onto any bus or tram easily by flashing (possibly) any fake card or just going by the back door. basically, in Germany you probably can travel for free and get away with it. something i think the cheapskate linken in singapore would jump at.

2. Germans' favourite mode of transport however seems to be biking round town! everyone bikes, from old ladies with flowery dresses or working women in power suits!

3. it's now currently 9.24PM, and the sky outside looks deceptively like late 5pm in singapore. this means people are having al fresco dinner as though they are having tea and catching a 9pm bus looks like you are catching a normal daytime bus.

4. along with the topsy-turvy time comes a really power dietary habit of the Germans. they seemingly eat breakfast, lunch, then tea at 4, then dinner, then cocktail + more food at 9!!! and yeah, beer is REALLY cheaper than coke, much to my chagrin cos most of the local beers i've tried SUCKS. it leaves and bitter aftertaste in your mouth after a few sips.. hmmz

oh wellz.. so just an outline of today.. Potsdam, San Souci, Marble Hall @ Schloss San Souci, Grotto Hall @ New Palace, Chinese Tea House, Lunch @ Dragenhaus, Raphael Hall @ Orangery Schloss, Holocaust Memorial, East Side Gallery, Dinner @ Josef Dieter Roth Cafe..

hmmz.. tomorrow is time to head out to Bamberg. arrgh! too little time! Berlin really has so many gems, quaint cafes, bustling bars.. man..

oh damn not again!

geez.. what a friend i am indeed. i bought most people stuff, intending to give it out like during the 3 weeks period i meet everyone..

and yeah, EVERYTHING is still languishing in the fridge thanks to my utter forgetfulness, and honestly, i think i'm a terrible friend to boot. *sad. sheesh man.

went out with the dsta gang sans the UK pple today after the dsta mentor-buddy-mentee session. honestly, i think the mentee thing ain't working. up till NOW, i still don't know the name of my mentor, and neither has he/she contacted me. geez. how useful.

and it's amazing how fast time has flown, considering just one year ago we were the wee ickle ones going through image consulting, meeting for buddies and so on. yeah that reminds me, i needa LOSE WEIGHT. done with people telling me i've grown fatter, chubbier, that i can't wear white anymore (-_-) and my mom prompting me to exercise over and over again.

it's time for a change man. pple who go out with me, forbid me from eating ice cream, desserts, chocolates and whatsitnot. lolz..

la toya was scolded

it was fun and 'la toya' was so happy to overwhelm me with his recent expanded song repetoire.. lol (inside joke)

ok aniwez i think i've kinda found the way to avoid spending money on shopping le, cos after much reflections, i kinda realize how much money I have wasted on stuff that either shrunk in the wash (bloody ck shirt) or just turned out impractical, ugly or just unflattering. haha.

so yeah.. i'm gonna avoid all shopping centers and stick with my ole' plain clothes. yeah.. let's see how this lasts. i only have these current things on my shopping list.

1. backpack - bought @ army market
2. running shoes - bought @ queenstown
3. blazer
4. jacket

no more than that! err.. maybe also a wallet cos mine is kinda cuiz. STUPID bangkok trip man.. buy all the fake stuff cheap cheap then think so happy, now my fake birkens have literally no grooves on the sole such that I have to avoid water puddles and smooth surfaces at all costs, and then my billabong wallet is like rotting away. -__ geeez, i'm a pretty stupid shopper afterall.

katong laksa!

met with sheryl, ernie and wang yang for katong laksa today.. kinda silly to traipse so far down to katong just for laksa but.. hmmz.. worth it! haha

juz a few random musings:-
a. eating with ernie makes u feel so happy. lol! cos he pigs out and then complains for a full 5 minutes about being super full and not being able to walk, THEN goes to settler's cafe, orders sotong balls and EATS your share. -_-

b. playing board games with ernie is also super fun especially those reflex games where he takes a full second to realise everyone has spotted the similar cards and another second to respond by flailing his arms anxiously to no avail. lol! give that man his coffee man..

jap food takes the cake

bleah.. still super jet lagged. slept fm 7.00pm to 4.30am today. -_- wah.. irregular to the max.

whilst i was awake, my parents managed to drag me to this absolutely fantastich japanese restaurant in this mall called central to have lunch. speaking of malls, singapore continues to amaze me at the rate the shopping malls keep sprouting up and flourishing.

aniwez, lunch was a kamemashi set, gindara teriyaki set, and some delicious uber bento set my parents ordered. and i'll take back whatever good praises i've heaped upon plum tree because under comparison, plum tree doesn't even deserve to clean this place's toilets. lol

the food is seriously GOOD. and for prices below plum tree. sigh..


bento set

the full extravanganza

me and my dad

spring in NYC, hell in singapore

it's SUPER SUPER hot in singapore!! as yuan rui puts it, as we walked off the plane it was as though leviathan cast the water stun spell on us... wah

oh well.. its really nice to be back.. alreayd wnet to eat bak chor mee for bfast and gonna settle on the little little stuff to accomodate back to singapore. nice!

oh, and NYC with everyone was super fun as well, though we didn't have much time this time round.. just went eating good food @ red lobster (the bahamamama was nice!) and then going shopping round columbus circle, times square and herald square. =)

oh... saw some really GM-looking but luscious tomatoes, and found a gem of a great food - riesling sorbet!!! wah.. damn shiok, chilled with the decent taste of riesling wine.. haha.. shiok!


hmmz.. a bit too red for me to believe


me, my "twin bro" and des enjoying riesling sorbet

heading back

it's kinda sad to see your room emptying and reverting back to the state when you initially moved in but yeah.. it's done.. and all my stuff is safely stored away, the comforter is flattened and compressed thanks to jdup and yeah... and i'm all set to head back to singapore!!

just for fyi,
19th may - ithaca >> la guardia
20th may - jfk >> frankfurt >> singapore (back on 22nd jun @ 6.00.. woot just in time for morning porridge or roti prata!

10th jun 11.30pm - singapore >> frankfurt --> germany tour! =)
24th jun - frankfurt >> jfk >> la guardia >> ithaca
25th jun - summer sch starts.. -_-

haha.. oh well.. looking forward to a smashing summer, a haircut in singapore (lol), food glorious food, dota sessions and MOST importantly, time with my parents. =) kinda missing them now after having to lug EVERYTHING and pack EVERYTHING in my room and lamenting how they forced me to take millions and millions of pretty unecessary stuff to ithaca.

haha. okz.. i'm outta dickson for good. =)

life is..

chilling out at maxie's supper club, talking about playing WoW over the summer, chatting about irrelevant stuff, completely forgetting about the looming 3 finals next week.

sigh.

oh well. just had to divert from my phasors, complex numbers, amplifiers and whatisnot. bleah. oh yeah... i've come to a realization i look TERRIBLE in photos. so, no more photos of me. hahaha. bleah.

super bleah.

i want my riesling please

arrgggh! omg it's study week and i've pretty much done zilch on studying, first with grad nite prep, grad nite, random boardgames, mahjong.. -_-

frank!! disappear offline and start MUGGING.

but i can't start tonight.. cos i'm tipsy from the nice riesling @ sheldrake point during grad nite.. which i must say was pretty nice, esp the jigsaw thingy. wah.. good job man sophomores.. =)

sheesh. i just got jio for dota again. and i can't type coherently.. might as well stop.

haha.. aniwez, this is the 250th POST!!! whoppee!! it's of significance cos my previous blog ended its life on the 250th post also after all the immature rants, blog wars, running out of inspiration and whatever.. =)

ok heck. im talking rubbish.

traipsing round greater ithaca

went up to sheldrake point for preparations for grad nite (what the HELL am i doing such things 2 weeks before finals.. -_-) and well, err.. drank all sorts of red and white wine one after the other whilst the two underaged kids, jm and sheryl stood and watched.. lol.. i must say my favourite is still the riesling.. maybe cos the sugar content is the most...

and yeah. then i got a bit tipsy. how pathetic. lol.. and dun worry i wasn't driving.


sheldrake point look bleak


the flowers are blooming! -_-.. (inside joke)


sheryl thought the duck was real


on the way we took a detour to taughannoc falls. wah. it looks.. out of this world. then we embarked on our "group photo taking session"


jianmin's


mine.. FAIL -_-


lol.. err.. hmmz


along the way i kept saying the roads reminded me of texas chainsaw massacre or like house of wax.. lol.. car left at the edge of the woods.. creepy


and at night we had a delicious meal @ plum tree! beef sukiyaki, plum tree tempura and the uber delicious out of control!!! (though jm still has phobia of sushi now.. lol)

ok.. back to work bah

asia night

asia night - fun!!! i din regret going to sing for the finale sing.. the singers were cool and yeah.. we did great! =)



pretty much the entire asian population represented on stage. =)

props to johnny, mark and the rest for organizing and coordinating this thing. yay!

the best thing? WINNING THE 32 INCH TV FOR OUR HOUSE!!! WOOT!!! BWAHAHAHA!

oh.. haha.. and spring means flowers!!








and the animals are out again! =)

the resurgence of sunglasses

hehe.. shummertime is finally coming after that last spell of winter..

aniwez, sg day came and went with the weekend and yeah, i PAID DEARLY FOR IT.

both in terms of money cos i kena summon for parking at wrong place, in terms fo mental trauma after *that* car ride and that i had to go through my FIRST all nighter finishing up a horrid 230 lab. geez. i'm still feeling the repercussions.

but that all being said, singapore day was SHIOK! besides the obvious draw of the food, the singaporean-ish weather (ok.. not so fun), the performances were SUPRISINGLY good! besides the slightly [i]off[/i] getai show. err.

hossan leong was a complete standout stand-up comedian from his wild antics to his claims that singaporeans were truly international cos we watch korean drama, watch HK serials, our childran speak tagalog, we breathe in smoke from neighboring country, buy water from other country and import ping pong players from.. lol

then haha.. first time hear kit chan sing live.. haha imagine, i had to go to singapore to hear a singaporean artiste sing.. and wow she was good. =) *plus she made the joke abt singaporeans being bilingual except ACS boys.. lol

hmmz.. someone said also that sg day was good cos it gave the singaporeans time to do two of their favourite activities - queuing and complaining. ha! but seriously, the queues for food were really at time intolerable but wah.. once u get to the head of the line, your mouth starts to water, eyes start to glisten.. haha.. katong laksa was SUPER GOOD. lol.. i'm so going back to singapore to grab it.

so now back to the books..*bleah and prelims.. *super bleah.
oh.. and yeah.. what's the NUMBER ONE way to FAIL YOUR DRIVING TEST IN US?

- think your test date is one week later than it actually is. - courtesy of jm

super man. no one can trump that la.

my jokes are falling flat

geez.. is it me or is it just that my jokes are getting too obtuse and incomprehensible?

try this:

what do you call an ernie with more than one brain cell?

ans. pregnant ernie.

...

and yeah..there were luke-esque levels of silence, but not because it was godawful lame but bcos no one understood. wy had to badger me to explain the joke to her twice before she got it. -_-

try this:

overheard in campus-
clueless girl A - arrrgh! i can'ts find STAFF on ratemyprofessor!
clueless girl B - yah! and he's teaching sooo many classes!

and yeah, again sheryl said it wasnt funny, same with josh. -_-

i'm losing my touch man. haha..or maybe i had none. lol

snowstorm ithaca

yeah.. april snow it is..

well well, ian get's his wish and yet another snowstorm blankets ithaca. ploughing down to central campus ain't really fun with snow whipping at your face and the ground icing up such that you slip one step after every two steps. -_-

can we just get to spring!? -_-

edited to add (after 4 hours) IT IS STILL SNOWING. i don't feel like ever leaving my room. when i left my room my lunch, I was pelted by falling snow from trees. -_- now imagine it is falling snow from buildings... sure cuiz.

this is WAAAAAY too much snow