Boredom arises not for a lack of things to do, but the inability to latch onto any specific activity. Without stimulus or focus, a person is confronted with nothingness and the meaninglessness of existence. How True.
Trying to find new things to learn has become more of a chore ("I have to") instead of a given ("I need to"). In order to fill up our 6-weekly reports of at least 5 pages, we have to come up with probably 3000 words (or so) for the entire article, with Times New Roman 12 pts with 1.5 lines spacing. And to put what we learnt (or supposedly, learnt) into words is a lot more easier if we had something to learn in the first place!
If the experience that you are getting is mundane/boring/revolving around the same dot, how is it that you are able to crapportray a good image of the entire stint? Probably not, since you will be:
1) Lying to yourself for having experiences when you do not have;
2) Lying to the company for having done a good job in taking you in as an intern when they obviously did nothing to do so;
3) Lying to your mentor that all is fine and dandy and you are learning a hell lot of stuff, but that's because our dear mentors are simply too caught up with work and do not have time to simply strut down to the company to just have a look at how things are going (NTU is much better in this aspect than NUS).
Admist the lies, you find some truths in why internships are still being sought-after by students. Because of the belief that internships may allow them to have a future career in the company. Because of the belief that other companies might look at their CVs/Resumes and say, "wow this person worked at XXX coy".
How many times have we taken a step back and see if the internship companies really offer what they have 'promised'? Maybe not, but I do know of some companies who really give great internship opportunities to students. These companies are the sought-after companies, but in NUS, only those with high CAP will get a chance to work in these companies. So it leaves the rest to us.
To err is human, but I guess, if you're not even given a chance to do anything (which would thereby lead to erring in a decision or something like that), you will probably not learn much.
And well, while I might be complaining about how bad this internship actually turned out to be, I am pretty thankful that I could explore other projects on a 'part-time' basis. While that might not be useful to me, I think that it's a good opportunity.
Current Mood: 
In Thought
Sometimes, I feel that my IA is really meaningless. The company does not seem to value the presence of the interns, at least that's how I see the upper management. I have yet to tell my superior about the lack of things I get to learn or do in my current capacity.
Perhaps, one should be a half-year working student instead of an intern.
Intern is such a sacred word in Singapore companies. With an educated workforce which demand (but they actually command a whole lot lesser) a higher salary from their bosses on their first/second/third jobs, the presence of the intern helps the companies' HR personnel in more ways than one.
For one, they get to hire a student on a lower payscale, but making him/her perform the same work as a temp, who is obviously paid higher. And all the HR managers have to do is to tell the school the supposed jobscope, and they get their man for the whole 6 month period. Depending on company, the intern would be doing anything from 'saikang' to improving a plant process to being accountable for something, something which they can come to call as their own.
Well, unluckily (or lucky to some others) for me, I fall into the first category of interns. My colleagues are nice, but I find the company too obsessed with the end result and that certain people just do not mix.
To tell you the truth, I've already explained these in my HR reflection paper. It was from what I observe and feel, and I really wish that I could do something about it...even if it's just a small step to making the next day seem much better and more meaningful to look forward to.
Guess maybe I still do not know what I intend to become. Sighs.
Current Mood: 
Sad
Did u guys read the recent s3x survey done in NUS? Shocking? Or was it more of "oh wells, it's all known..." and "u mean, now it's OFFICIAL??" *cue innocent+shocked face*
Well, I guess we guys know about the hkpk happening behind the scenes in the quiet (or not-so-quiet) hall life in NUS, right? Maybe not everyone who stays in hall engage in such activities, but definitely, if there is word about it circling round the campus, it cant be based on untruths or half-truths, right? 正所谓：无风不起浪.
And maybe, incoming freshies will be more interested in hall-life...com'on dudes...taste the wonderful life in school...and see for yourself if the report is true (or false?).
And on the other hand, we all know the 'fact' that CJC has one of the highest abortion rates in the 2000 period, and now
Wait a minute...who came up with such honours in the first place?? Probably someone who wanted to spice up the entire "this JC vs that JC" thing. Like the question on how many xJC students does it take to change a light bulb (where x is the prefix, say...R, or C, or AC, etc...). Stereotypes, as we learn in HR2002.
Oh and HR2002...the module which IA students take after a long day at work in school from 6.15pm onwards. The module which
So during last week's class, the topic was on framing (of people). As class participation, we were supposed to relate a word with the first thought on our minds (obviously, most of us did not do that, if you take 1 minute to blurt out an answer, it just means the word went through the brain, down your throat, into the stomach, got digested, and went back up to your vocal chords to be blurted out. hurhurhur)
Well, I decided to have a little fun for that, so when I was given the word "Psychologist", I said...
Why? 'Cos of Basic Instinct la...where she acted as a psychologist-cum-killer.
I mean, if Jennifer Garner or Jessica Alba were to have such a role, their names would be up there in my mind, and the first to be blurted out. This is because...
Guess my life revolves around movies. I've caught a lot of movies (and on dvds if I did not get to watch on TV or on the big screen). If I actually gave a little more thought on the word psychologists, I would probably blurt words such as "psychotic", "lab coated guys in high armchairs" or "shrinks".
Guess that's my urban lifestyle now...movies. I need some escapades out of this little red dot. Toilet break, anyone??
Current Mood:
PensiveCurrent Music: 沈建宏 - 遇上 Ice Cream
As all of you guys might have heard, the JI detainee Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from Singapore's detention centre on the 27th of February, sparking an island-wide manhunt and a lockdown of the Goldhill Avenue area. Till now...he's still out at large.
And this, my dear readers, is Singapore's version of Prison Break. In fact, I wonder who's more 厉害 - Michael Scofield, or Mas Selamat. The former escaped from Fox River State Penitentiary, the latter escaped from the high security Whitley Detention Centre. And they share the same initials, MS. What a coincidence.
vs 
Anyway, this show something about our police force...so lax. This guy is a highly dangerous man (being a former JI leader and plotting to bomb Changi Airport), and the ease in which he can escape from a so-called high security detention centre raises many eyebrows.
And WKS' reply to minister's queries on the event shed little light on what actually happened. The people are really interested to know what happened, and why information was realised to the public so late, almost 6 hours after the suspect escaped!
If word had gone out earlier, those driving along the PIE and the roads near the detention centre could have kept a look-out for someone who looked like him, and provide police with some leads! Too bad, our police scholars do not seem interested in such help from the public.
The best thing was that they did a lock-down of the Goldhill Avenue area, on the basis of thinking he is hiding in the forests behind CJC. Smart move, but the fact was that they spent resources from more than just the police force; Guardsmen, Gurkhas, SOC officers and MPs were roped in to help. And despite having so many people forming a 'formidable' human blockade, they could not find him, and had to call off the search on the 28th afternoon. I pitied the MPs and Guards personnel who were sent in to bolster the search teams - they were in camp on alert, and this 'shit' happens...gosh. If the police did their job better, won't it be easier on everyone?
And probably our higher-ups did not hear of the show Prison Break. Gosh. Maybe they should use it as a reference into the thoughts of a prisoner who is intent on breaking out at all costs. Haha.
Hope this guy is caught soon. The police thinks that he's still in this little red dot, but me thinks that he's already on some bumboat out of this dot. It's simply too risky to stay on here any further.
News Article:
I've lost all hope in SPF now man...what a joke to the world.
Ugh...CoNfUsEd...
Sighs. Can't things be in black and white? Or maybe grey is the colour of the world...
Am tired of holding on to some friendships. Really feel so sucky sometimes.
Sighs.
Stories come in through the newspapers...of which the following seem to be important to the newspapers:
1) Ah Meng dies on Thursday (And so...front page news. WOW. How about when a human dies?? Does it get such a big coverage??)
2) US pumping in money to the pockets of citizens to boost economy (does it work???)
3) Taiwan celebrities say that Singaporean England very de not good. (it feels damn lao kui to get this remark ok...Gosh. Time to brush up. Speak Good English (SGE) and Speak Good Mandarin (SGM) Campaigns???)
4) ERP. (Doesn't it simply ROCK??? More gantries, More money (for who ah???)!!! Huat Ah!!! And mrbrown.com's songs of praise here!)
5) Satellite tracking system to replace ERP. (Even't more huat ah! Start engine, Start charging...)
I love the New Year period. New year, New beginnings. ROFLMAO. A perfect time to release news also. HAHAHA.
CNY is a festive period for get-togethers and getting ang paos....as for me, it's also baby-sitting time for my cousins' kids. HAHAHA. Got to play with them and interact with them! Gosh. Never really got to visit them often enough so it's good that we came together once a year at least. Guess everyone's leading their own lives huh??
Playing with the kids was fun...but it's not when they get over-rowdy I guess. Esp. the boys la. haha. The most impt thing was to ensure they do not do a low-wall stunt on u and end up heads-first on the ground. shudders.
Also, watched 2 movies on the first day, after the kids have gone home to nap! haha...功夫灌篮 (Kungfu Slam Dunk) starring Jay Chou and 长江七号 (CJ7) starring Stephen Chow. In my opinion, CJ7 seems more worth it...the main draw of this movie was not the plot or special effects, it was more of the cute alien 'dog' and the wonderful acting by Xu Jiao, who plays Chow's son. (Okay as u all should know by now, she's acting as a he.) And the alien 'dog' is super cute la! Gosh. Loved the scene when the son thinks there's a ghost, and the other scene where the alien does all the funny faces you can possibly imagine!!! To top it off, Chow does spoofs of famous movies like Mission Impossible and even his own Kungfu Hustle!!!
One of the most funny scenes in the movie!
CJ-7!
On the other hand, Chou's movie was not that nice. Other than the draw of watching him do slam dunks and do some gongfu here and there, there's really no plot at all and the apparent lack of clear direction was shown. Love sub-plot was hinted but not developed. A waste, indeed.
More angpaos for the next few days I hope! Hope CNY's not gonna break into another routine again. Gosh.
It's finally Chinese New Year!!! Gosh...the time of the year for us to "HUAT AH!", earn more money (hopefully) at the 麻将 tables and in cards (i.e. Poker, Texas Hold'em for the younger dudes?)
And who can forget the reunion dinners?? Such an integral part of Chinese culture I guess. Some families still have home-cooked meals, others prefer lesser hassle and head to the restaurants. Nevertheless, the feel and atmosphere of the reunion dinner (IMO) is very very important!
And of course, the 'chance' to get together with your family for a long long period of time! Gosh...I guess I really spend very little time at home, especially since I try to fit in evening classes and runs after work. And to top it off, to meet some friends now and then. Which all means reaching home after 10pm. Not much time for a good talk huh?
Anyway, dinner was steamboat, simple and easy! Had fun eating, chatting and then moving on to the TeeVee/GoogleBox and finally playing a few rounds of Poker! Had a slight loss, but I shall not be deterred! This is just a warm-up match!!! 鼠年有鼠运!
The spread!
海鲜
发菜
Nice and cosy dinner :)
Good weekend ahead!!! Wishing all my family members and friends 身体健康，心想事成，万事如意，财源滚滚...
P.S. That was just for warm up. HAHAHA
Current Mood:
New Year Mood!
Time flies when u're having fun, or maybe time flies when u're busy.
But whatever it is...coming back to SG might be good....?
Been trying to get myself settled down in SG now...sheesh. Juggling both IA at Emerson Process as well as meeting up with friends! Gosh.
Met up with a lot of people over the past 2 weeks...shall actually blog a LITTLE about that and move on...haha...haven't blogged for the past 2 weeks!
First, met up with Adeline, Heng Hong and Jac for supper at the Ponggol Nasi Lemak before heading to Liquid Kitchen for a round of drinks. Nice chit chat...and it was kinda cool to be eating Nasi Lemak on the day of my arrival in SG! And did I say that it was HOT HOT HOT???
Next, it was workday on the 21st and from then till the weekend, I met up with Jialiang on Tuesday, as he was going to fly off for his exchange over in Lyngby, Denmark. And of course, that's where Lisheng and Anthony were for their exchange!
The next day (Wednesday), met up with the Okalier peeps for dinner and a celebration of Sharon's birthday! No pictures yet...all with Hwi Bee! But it was fun, and I was glad to meet up with Yihui, Jianlong and Pei Geok.
Had to rush my report and essay for TU/e for the rest of the week, and while I was dying from obvious boredom in the office, I found time to get an evening class for HR2002. And man, I did not regret that decision!
The following week started off brightly, as I was assigned to a project and getting more involved. Like finally...I have a purpose??? haha. Met up with Wanling at school, then dropped by to say hello to the 28ths before meeting some of the 27ths for a farewell party organised for Weiguang, also going on his exchange! Dinner at Prince @ Coronation, and Island Creamery thereafter.
The week dragged on, had a great time for my FIRST HR2002 class and met up with my primary school classmate Calvin, together with Jennifer, Lydia, Ray and Ya Yin as the group members! Gosh. All chemical engineers. haha. And we were one of 2 groups in the class who had ladies in the group! The rest were all-guys groups. (This was observed by Lydia, I was only too happy to have ladies in the group)
But anyway, Thursday came by and I met up with the Fuego peeps. Really happy to meet up with another group of friends. Someone was pak-to-ing so couldn't meet up, but the main group was there - Fou-ge, Anqi, Mark, Weili and Chee Hao!
We had dinner at this zhi cha near Holland Village, and then we headed to HV to meet Anqi and had dessert at NYDC! Seems like everywhere there were price increases...the mudpies in NYDC cost $10.95, up a dollar from $9.95 previously! The new look menu did not make me forget about the cost of mudpies before I left!
Fuo-Ge.
Food....NYDC mudpies!
Weili, Anqi, Me
Chee Hau, Fuo-ge, Mark
Then yesterday, met up with the 26ths for a long-awaited gathering! The attendance was not bad, and the whole of the Pub Cell was there too! Gosh! A pity that Jorin, Tianqi, Meena and Heng Hong couldn't make it. Had dinner at this Jap restaurant along Citylink, and I also brought my Port wine! Too bad that it was raining, else it would be damn fun to be sitting outside along the river, taking in the sights, talking and sipping some wine...
On top of that, the basement link from Citylink to Esplanade was full of rat drawings! If you happen to pass by there, do go and take a look! And of course, dun leave ur prints behind ;)
Dolls at your service.
Danny playing with the dolls
26ths!
The artist
Rats! Reminds me of Hamtaro??
干杯！
Managed to watch Sweeny Todd: The Demonic Barber of Fleet Street, starring Johnny Depp, today!
Either way I felt that the movie was 'gory'...fake blood spilling out was a little too much...or sleep-inducing. It was kinda slow to build up, but the plot (IMO) was kinda straight-forward with a small side-plot to go with it.
Current Mood:
HappyCurrent Music: 黄立行 - 你身边
I'm back! (feeling narcissistic lol)
Am having another wave of culture shock...this time on my return to Singapore.
Not that I've not come to this island of Singapore before, I've lived here all my life, and yet, when I enter Singapore, I get this funny feeling of going to a totally new place once again...
For example, seeing old uncles and aunties working hard at preparing the airport for yet another new day, for the thousands of passengers passing through not 2, but 3 terminals of Singapore.
And the multi-racial, multi-cultural society of Singapore.
And how this staff from Changi Airport absolutely did not bother to move his hand to replace the fallen trays he had just knocked over...instead he just clutched his foot. I mean, I know your foot is in pain, but at least have the decency to put all the fallen trays back up, right??? I couldn't stand it and I helped replace part of the trays to the stack, thinking he would do so.
Well, he didn't. And the lady next to him stood at the very same location as him, and never bothered to lift a finger even. Too bad, my food came along and I took my food over to my table, but I was curious as to whether SGreans will do something about the mess.
Well, 3 people stood in the vicinity, and none of them bothered. They just left the mess as it was...and 5 mins later the cleaner came by and stacked the trays up.
So what do u lose by doing such a basic 'menial' thing as to stack up the trays u see lying in a mess? And more so if you are the cause of the problem???
Pictures show a dozen words...
Pathetic society.
Motorists to face five new ERP gantries
MOTORISTS can expect to pay more over the next few months to use the roads when five new ERP gantries are up, many in the heart of residential areas.
The gantries are in Upper Bukit Timah Road (outside Hume Park), Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Upper Boon Keng Road, Kallang Bahru Road and Geylang Bahru Road.
All except the ones in Toa Payoh Lorong 6 and Geylang Bahru Road have been completed.
The Land Transport Authority has not announced when these new gantries will be switched on, but already residents are concerned why their neighbourhoods are targetted.
Commenting on the gantry outside Hume Park, Bukit Timah resident Mr Burven Lee, 43, said: 'The road here does get jammed up. But will a gantry solve the problem?'
'My feeling is that it will just redistribute traffic around,' the director of a statutory board added.
Toa Payoh resident 68-year-old retiree Tony Chan wanted to know why the gantry at Toa Payoh Lorong 6 is sited near the entrance to the residential area.
The LTA spokesman explained that the location of the gantry is unlikely to affect residents as it charges motorists entering into Toa Payoh from Braddell Road who add on to the traffic in the area.
He added that if gantries were at exit points, more Toa Payoh residents would be affected. Also it would plug a gap in series of gantries forming an outer cordon around the city.
The new gantries are part of the LTA's plans to have an 'outer cordon' to control traffic going into the city.
Source: Straits Times
What an idea by our bravo group of intellects...placing more and more gantries instead of doing something to reduce congestion, reduce car ownership, and encouraging more people to take public transport or use other means such as bikes and car pooling!!!
What Singapore really needs is someone in the government who realises the inherent problems and tackle it, not using a simple way of adding more gantries to earn more revenue and 'hopefully' improve the situation?!?!?!
I thought staying in TPY, Kallang and Upp Boon Keng were good choices...apparently not. U can drive out but not drive back home 'cos of the stupid gantries. STUPID...
Maybe I should just save money to get a bicycle. But...riding bicycles in Singapore is another issue altogether, with the type of drivers we have, it's really scary to ride a bike on Singapore roads. So what does this mean for the commuter???
Another reason to want to live and work overseas...it's getting so stupid in SG.
Current Mood:
Angry
Feeling emo sometimes. Just keeping it inside would be the best, or so I thought.
Things have changed in 5 months. Well, change's the only constant, ain't it?
Maybe my resolution should've been..."I should be less emo this year."
Saw a shooting star and a great night sky out here in Storlien, but too bad my camera cannot take such a great night sky. Too bad. Too bad.
Regrets are just too late, ain't it?
Maybe 2007 HAS BEEN a year of regrets. I think I did manage to pour our my sorrows over a tipsy New Year.
I never do know myself, I guess.
It seems like Vista + SP1 is no better than Vista-from-the-box, and XP SP3 is more worth it? Guess I'm pretty right to hold onto the usage of XP and Office 2003, since Office 2007 obviously forces you to unlearn everything you've learnt about Office till now. The report's right here.
Not that I'm anti-learning or adverse to new things.
Oh and since the end of 2007's about here, it's also time for the usual mambo-jumbo, the top 15 hits, top 15 misses, etc...Not to forget the Rick Dees Top 100 countdown I used to listen on 98.7FM, and 933's countdown to New Year on NYE!
And here...we have...the 15 biggest tech disappointments from Yahoo. Up at number one is one which definitely won hands-down: Windows Vista. Oh yea.
Current Music: 周杰伦 - 我不配
On Timeline: 07 - 08 Dec 07
Disclaimer: this is not really a thread to bash this wonderful country, but what I see and felt when I was in the situation. It's nothing personal about the country, and I'm not comparing this country to the other countries I've visited, like Spain, England and Switzerland. So, please read on if you feel you're cool-headed enough to stomach what I've blurt*d.
---
After my wonderful trip to London, it was back to reality in Eindhoven for 2 days, before I had to jet off down south, to arrive (eventually) at Lyon and meet up with Xiaowen and Lynn who were both studying at Grenoble. There was (apparently) a lights festival at Lyon, and it was so huge that I could not find hostels/hotels there! Gosh!
To get to Lyon on the 8th, I had to fly to Marseille airport on the 7th night, and the flight was scheduled to land in Marseille airport at an ungodly time of 2335hrs. It's simply a CRAZY time. There were no buses/trains serving the airport at that time, and I had no choice but to stay overnight, alone, at the airport!
Not that I was alone in the airport. There were 2 other people who were at the airport also, and over the course of the night I saw people who came into and out of the airport, for no apparent reasons. There was a group of 4 brown/blacks who came into the airport, walked around the airport, played with the check-in counter's weighing machine, conversed in French, and then walked out of the airport. I mean, who comes to the airport at 2am in the night?!?! It's crazy, and it's at least 30 minutes drive from the airport to the nearest city! Gosh.
I ended up having to force myself to stay awake in the airport, which seemingly did not have central heating, from midnight till 0615, where there was the first bus. There was a stack of readings which was supposed to keep me company, but readings have a snooze effect on travellers (it works if you are a student also!) and it didn't work for too long. I decided to catch some shut-eye here and there, by hugging my bag whilst I closed my eyes, and then placing my leg on top of a chair to make myself comfortable (sleeping whilst sitting down SUCKS. TRUST ME)
The night was also loooonnng. Time passed by so so so slowly. It was literally a drag. I guess that happens when you are WAITING for something to happen, and you are doing absolutely NOTHING. I read my notes, looked at the time, and only a pathetic 5 minutes have passed. Well, I definitely thought otherwise...
I could not allow myself to sleep, I thought. There was absolutely no security there, and it was really unsafe. Coupled with many reports about how 'unsafe' Marseille city is, I could understand why. Maybe the prior information had freaked me out? I'm not sure about that, but I'm pretty sure that I was on alert throughout the night.
Slowly and surely, the airport was roused from its sleep as more people arrived at about 3am, and I realised the reason for it was due to a flight due out of Marseille airport at 6.20am, to Fes, a place in North Africa. In fact, there were a lot of black people who arrived at the airport, luggage and children in tow, to check in. I decided it was time to move, and moved from the budget terminal side to the Halls 1-4 of the Marseille airport.
I was kicking myself for not going to these Halls, as there were better facilities to rest. I found a row of cushioned seats at Hall 4, near the ticketing counter for the bus to Aix-en-Provence, and promptly settled down there. Alas, there was no heating system in the Hall, and I was left cold, and a little hungry. Luckily for me, hunger was solved by the few pieces of bread I usually bring on my travel, and it was easily resolved.
I even managed to get 30 mins of shut-eye there! There were almost no people who walked in the hall, and it was quiet. The eerie silence of the large airport hall, but I was too tired to bother. I laid down my bag as a pillow, and laid down on the cushioned seats to have some 'sleep'.
This is how u sleep in airports.
At 0600, I woke up to get myself ready for the bus ride, and I was lucky to get a ticket out to Aix-en-Provence to catch the train to Lyon at 0615, the very first bus out of the Marseille airport. The bus ride was fast and silent, and I landed myself in the TGV station, because I thought it was there that I could take a ride to Lyon.
I was so wrong.
The Aix-en-Provence TGV station ONLY served TGV trains, and did not serve TER or regional trains! I was quite stunned and I asked for directions to the nearest regional station from the lady at the TGV counter, all replies were crisp and had a "please buy a TGV ticket" inherent in them. I felt pressured and having little sleep the night before, I was really tired of being told that there was NO OTHER WAY TO LYON EXCEPT VIA TGV (or a route which REQUIRED THE USE OF TGV). On top of that, I could not get the decourvte ticket, which was a discount for those between 13 and 25 years of age. In the end, I just gave in and bought a TGV-combined ticket to take myself to Avignon TGV, which was just a freakin' 20 mins away, for €23. And I had to take a bus to Avignon central station, and transit to the Avignon TER train, which cost another €23! It was definitely a total rip-off! Who pays €23 for a 20 minutes journey on the TGV, and the same price is a 3 hour ride on a slower train? It was insane. (As a comparison, the full fare ticket from Aix-en-Provence to Lyon is €55,but I've to wait 3.5 hours at the station, and reach at 1pm.)
Sighs. But I managed to get to Avignon, walked in the city for an hour or so, and hopped onto the TER bound for Lyon, and slept throughout the journey. Well, almost.
Outside Avignon TGV station
Avignon Tourism Office
Christmas Marche in Avignon!!
I met up with Xiaowen and her 3 other friends, Siew Sze, Conce, and Gong Meng at Lyon. The 4 of them brought me around Lyon, to the nearby parks and the Fourviere. It's really a blessing to have 4 ladies to bring you around Lyon...really! The lights festival is pretty huge, as compared to the 'Glow' festival in Eindhoven, I think this one in Lyon wins hands-down! The crowds can definitely attest to its lure. Also, I met up with the rest of the Singapore 'contingent' studying in Grenoble, and saw Cheuk Fung and Kevin, who are both in my course. Met up with Yun Zhi, who studies in Lyon. It was all fun, snapping around, doing stupid things (of which some pictures I shall not post here to protect the identities of everyone...)
Personally, other than the humongous crowd, I thought that Lyon was beautiful. All it needed, perhaps, was just more sunlight, lesser crowds, and it would be a beautiful city.
The four lady hosts in the park! (Ahem...no flowers at this time of the year, a pity!)
Church at top of Fourviere
The Pope speaks...
View of Lyon from top of Fourviere
I was pushed!
I'm glowing....
Lyon's Festival of Lights
Candles in Cathedral of St. Joan
Scandal!
Goldfish: Hello?? Hello?!?!?
Paparazzi shot.
Lyon
Sphere of light
And the crowds. OMG...every nook and cranny of Lyon was flooded with people. You just squeeze your way in to see a display, then squeeze your way out to get some air. Repeat the process as many times as you wish! The crowds were the worse at the Metro station, where everyone seemed to pour into the stations, trying to get onto the trains out of the place.
The crowded Metro
And if you thought that Singapore was safe, people were standing at the edges of the open train platforms without fear! Gosh. If someone were to push him/her...
I'm appalled at France. So far, my memories of France would probably rank the lowest, probably even worse than Malaysia. Totally disappointing. France, as a whole, is probably the worse country to travel in. My previous travel to Paris gave me that impression, this trip to Lyon just reinforces my perception of them. You can say that I'm stereotyping the French, but hey, I am not against them at all. I've met French who are really nice, but the ones I see this time round was totally atrocious. I'm really glad that all of us are back in 1 piece, safe and sound.
- The squeezing of people at the train station. The shouting, the cussing and the arguments which ensued as people pushed forward to get into the crowded stations. And squeezing people means that people could get their hands all over the ladies "in an accident". Not to forget, I saw a little boy, about 8 years old, who laid unconscious on the ground after the apparent pushing. Where's the civility?
- When it's crowded, does it make sense for security personnel to join the BIG SQUEEZE? Apparently, it's a great activity! Join the fun!
- The apparent discrimination of people. We were travelling in a group of 6, with 4 Asians and 2 Europeans. Yet, the police checked the travel documents of us 4, but not the other 2! And the rest of the train wasn't checked either! It was a blatant show of discrimination and I really hate such a view. Does it mean that those who look European could not gain illegal entry into France??
- Last-minute changes. The French love to go on strike. Now, they've learnt how to make last minute changes, and on top of that, they simply love to waste time. A train which was due out at 2240 finally departed the station at 2310. And all the time they were asking people without proper seats to get on a bus headed for Grenoble, but they sent no-one to ensure that the people did so. Brains??? Who would, in their right state of mind, move out of the train when it is apparently a faster option home? On a side note, the French TGV assigns seats to each and every passenger, and you cannot get on the TGV 'cos it's fully booked. They do not allow for people to get on the TGV without a seat. If that were to happen to the ICE in Germany, I'd bet a lot of Germans are unable to get home for the weekends. Can't they just be smarter and let people on the TGV? I'd bet people are willing to pay a ticket to just be on the train. Nothing else.
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I've already stated my disclaimer, so please dun flood me with hate emails, or hate-tag me. Thanks!
Current Mood:
Angry