Catching up with life in Singapore....

Me and Kevin are at this lodge in a Barcelona suburb now. It´s a really cool place, on a hill slope with nice weather and lots of pine trees and yadder yadder yadder... It´s a perfect setting for a summer retreat. And all this for 14 euros per night!!

Anyway, I spent some time reading my frens´ blogs this morning, and I realised I missed out on a couple of things back in S´pore. Like Tris´s bday. Sorry dude, i guess it´s too late to wish u happy b day now, but I´m glad you spent ur b day in such wonderful fashion. Hehe. And I´ll be missing my Dad´s b day too. And of cos theres gonna be law camp tht I´ll be skipping as well. To all my law frens: Have fun! I´m sure law camp will be a success. And to MJ, Kwok and Yang: Enjoy Taiwan, and dun waste too much time taking pictures of the la mei there. Haha.


Anw, I think I´ll blog abt some of the ppl I know/gotten to know thru´out my trip so far.

Clive is this American guy we got to know in Madrid, and we watched the bull fight with him. Quite a cool dude. Travelling alone, hates his own country sometimes for their warmongering and hates the Republicans.

Clive (American): ¨So Alan, your country seems to be on the verge of sth big...I mean the infrastructure´s been growing at an amazing pace, you know what I mean?"
Me: ¨Not really, China´s the one that is really growing. We have more or less stagnated."
Clive: "Isn´t Singapore in China?"


Leroo is a South African white. A law student, he worked in London for a few months to sponsor his own travelling. Loves France, spent half his time there I think. Plans to return to South Africa after his travels and settle down.


Catia´s a portuguese law student. She studied in Norway for a period of time, took a yr off from her studies and went to Mozambique as a relief teacher. Now she´s in Spain working and waiting to resume her studies in Portugal. Really inspiring and compassionate individual, she impresses me with her life philosophy.


Zhang Zhen is a teacher in China who came to Sweden for his Masters, and is now travelling before returning home. Down-to-earth, very intellectual and a really nice guy. You really learn a great deal abt China by talking to this guy.

There´s a lot more, and also many more new ppl I´ll get to meet I´m sure. Aiya thts abt it. Take care everyone.

Barcelona: Where you find the Catalan soul

This is the first time that I actually have the computer all to myself, without anyone waiting in line and trying to make me feel bad about hogging the computer. Finally, back to some serious blogging.

Barcelona is the pride of the Catalans in Spain. Without a doubt this coastal city sits right at the top of the list.

We walked along La Rambla on Tue, the most buzzingly busy street in Barcelona. They have really good buskers and street performers there. One cannot help but applaud the creativity and the novelty of it all. You have angels, devils, hip hoppers, vikings, goths, ballet dancers, magicians.... whatever, the list goes on. The whole street is simply full of performers, hawkers and ppl who are there just to get a feel of the buzz surrounding this quaint street.

The waterfront is not as impressive though. Maybe its becos I expected a really beautiful beach and waterfront before I arrived in Barcelona. Or maybe its becos of the influx of tourists making the whole beach so crowded. I just didnt find it so impressive. So wat if its a nude beach? (BTW I am using a spanish keyboard now, and i cant find the blardee apostrophe, so forgive me for the grammatical errors.) But then again, I love the feeling of a sunny beach with cool winds. Not hot, doesnt burn ur skin the way it does in Spore. Spent 5 hrs suntanning today without any sunscreen and yet I didnt get burnt. Shiok.

Museu Picasso was alright. I wasnt that impressed by Picasso honestly. Maybe its becos Ive been to Museu del Prado in Madrid, where the likes of Raphael, Velasquez, Rembrandnt and Goya make Picasso pale glaringly in comparison.

The finest son of Barcelona was undoubtedly Gaudi, one of the finest architects ever to walk the streets of this city. Gaudi obtains his inspiration from nature. And you cannot miss that when u look at the buildings he designed. Sagrada Familia---the Temple of the Holy Family (I think), is the most representative depiction of Gaudis genius. Park Guell, a man-meets-nature marvel, could not possibly have achieved the same effect without the touch of this genius. I thought both were awesome. Enough said; one has to see it for himself.

I have mixed feelings abt the night life of Barcelona. I mean, the pubs are great for soccer. I love the atmosphere. Had a great time watching the world cup with Kevin, Christian, Justin, Ruby... Seriously, when it comes to football, our own pubs cant hold a candle to the pubs here. (Plus the beer is so freaking cheap.)

But every now and then something happens and it really spoils your impression of the place, u noe wat I mean?

On wed night I went out with this bunch of friends I made at the hostel. At one pt I needed the loo, so I went looking for one by myself. I came across this bunch of young spanish punks, and then they started shouting, ¨Hey Chinos, U spk Ingles?" Then they blabbered some spanish gibberish, laughed and pointed the middle finger at me. Sad racist bastards. Wat did I do? I walked away. Utterly disgusted, yet slightly amused and more than a little afraid. Lol.

On thur night I went out again. Yeah I noe. Dun blame me. I love to experience night life. Esp when the alcohol is cheap. Anw, as we were walking along La Rambla around 2 in the morning, i got separated from the grp and got myself surrounded by this grp of spanish punks. (Yes. Young, white spanish punks. Again.) They blocked my way and wouldnt let me pass. I dunno why but I stopped. (I think I was kind of thinking, "ok, lets see what u can do. Come and get me if you can." Hell I was fucking pissed with young white spanish punks by then.) Anw, they surrounded me and then I felt a hand slap my back jean pocket. Obviously the fucker was trying to rob me. But they didnt get anything cos my hands were holding onto my valuables in my jacket pocket. The next instant I pushed one of them aside with my shoulder, barged thru and walked on. Screw them.

Wat else did I do? Oh I started educating myself on cooking skills. The fiasco in Alexs kitchen was the turning pt i think. At that moment I realised I simply cant put off learning cooking any longer. Lol. It feels gd when your pasta looks and tastes better with each passing day.

There are tons of other stuff and ppl I can blog abt during my stay here, but I am tired. Its late. So maybe I shall continue another day. After all, Ruishan said this to me,
"Put pictures la you stupid idiot. No one wants to hear your long-winded talk."

It aint my fault la. U noe how freakin long it takes to upload the pics? I gotta share the computer with others. (except now, but its really late and im tired)

Watever. Still, I gotta say i love barcelona. The seafoods great, the football rocks, the ppl are beautiful (generally), I made some amazing frens here, awesome beaches.... Now, on to belgium.

Ill miss Spain. Adios, Espanya.

Beautiful ppl, beautiful landscape, and delighful food... thts wat ESPAÑYA is all abt.

Madrid- The heart of Spain

The first thing that strikes the first-time visitor in Madrid lies in one word--- beauty.

Hailing itself as the heart of Spain, this busy capital has it all... grand buildings, wonderous parks and most tellingly, lip-smacking superb food.

Las Ventas

Anyone in Madrid knows what Las Ventas is all abt. It´s the arena for BULL FIGHTS.

I got no time to outline the whole event here. Put simply, the bull is taunted, stabbed, and eventually sluaghtered. The Madristas go crazy when the bull takes its final bow and collapses to the ground. It´s like they enter a bloodlusty frenzy. I didn´t exactly like the killing, but I kind of found the atmosphere cool.ç

Madrid has a throbbing pub scene. (Im only saying this cos beer costs 3 sing dollars for a half pint. Shiok.) Anyway it was fun to go pubbing with such a cosmopolitan and varied grp. (A south african, a canadian and two Americans)

Dont have time for pics now. In the hostels there is always a long queue for internet. Adios!

Spirited yet unassuming, Portugal retains a dusty patina of faded grandeur, reminding every visitor of its glorious past as a colonial power. Even as it flows towards the economic mainstream of the EU it seems to gaze nostalgically at its past glory.

Lisbon, or Lisboa as the Portugese know it, is more than just the capital. Situated near the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon became the conduit between the world and the Mediterranean region. You can hardly find any modern skyscrapers in Lisbon. Much of the landscape remains as that of a colonial era port. Although it has the crowds, noise and traffic of a capital city, its low skyline and breezy position beside the Tagus River lends it a small, manageable feel. The Portugese are a friendly, warm people. Most of the young generation speak fluent English.


Lisbon, quite simply, stands in a valley, with the Tagus running through it. The Castelo Se Jorge, a medieval fortification, stands at the top of the city. It obviously served as a defensive fortification for the capital in past ages.


The food is cheap! We actually get fine dining at about 8 euros each, which is cheaper than Singapore (VERY VERY RARE IN EUROPE). The place has a thing for al fresco dining. Almost every other restaurant offers al fresco dining. Who can blame them, when the weather´s warm, sunny and cosy?

The thing about Portugal, and maybe most of europe in general, is the laid back lifestyle. People here bother to slow down, take a breather, enjoy life. They´re not hemmed in by the busy pace that Singaporeans are so used to.

And the sea, undoubtedly, is one of the Lisbonese favourite.

And one more thing: alcohol here is damn cheap. Wines go generally for 10-20 euros. 12 euros (24 SGD) can get you a decent bottle of red. Beer goes at 1-1.5 euros. Yep, it´s cheaper than water.

Now I need to eat my dinner.