:: getting lazier to blog ::

sorry lah, miss mumbles for not updating too frequently.

it's ironical that i am not blogging as much as i thought i would be, as being away in a foreign land often means less hanging out with friends and being in the hotel room most of the time.

it's not.

in fact, i have spent so much time out of the hotel room and reaching home late every night from work, drinks and dinner.

it's maybe that it's better to do something than nothing at all that i am occupied MOST of the time..especialy when its the weekend.

but i'm afraid to be another 'tell-all' blogger..with lots of pics and stuff....but then again, what the heck! it's national day today in singapore and i just wanna share with you some pictures from last weekend...

it was amsterdam's gaypride 2005...and how could i not go when there were posters everywhere in the office asking for support in attendance since there was a 'contingent' from my client's office....



and ps: did i forget to tell you that i will be away in paris again, this weekend?

and forgive me from being away from blogging in the next few days...you would understand it if you are in my shoes...i'm sure ;)

see y'all...

and OH YEAH.. Happy National Day Singapore...Majullah Singapura!

:: just when enough is enough? ::

:: food glorious food, where's the sambal, man!::
a friend of mine (who is staying in KL) once said that she will never show me around should I decide to pay her a visit.

her reason was simple : she said that i am a 'high maintenance' guy...

and she got that idea just because i took her and her sister to good makan places around when they visited me few months back.

that was the first time that i ever heard anyone said about me.

am i really a high maintenance guy?

right now, luckily for me...all my meals are 'on the house' - which means that i can really indulge in any kind of food - french, dutch, american, indonesian, thai, chinese, etc at a city where only 60% are from the dutch origin. lucky me....bread and more bread make my farts stink big time!

however, after eating all these 'high maintenance stuff', i am getting sick and tired of going out to the restaurants anymore.... not because of the obligatory tips (sometimes, no need to tip as the waiter will act blur with the change)

the food is good, i have to admit it, although some of the asian restaurants are totally crap! but i am having strange craving for simple meals back home.... like maggie curry instant noodle for example, or mui fun from prinsep street and chicken rice from rex....

and the worst of all, is that i miss my mother's cooking...how i take the daily home-cooked meals for granted..and now, even these luxurious food could not make up for that short-coming.

i know its only going to be a month now, but i am really running out of ideas of what kind of food that i am going to expense -- on the house.. :).

like all they say, you can't have the best everytime...just once a while only lah! it's no wonder that power people like the president, SM Goh, sultan of johor occassionally "tah pow" food from local ordinary hawker....

see - i am not high maintenance after all....

:: sms that make me warm today...::

i still have text messages or phone calls at weird hour here (like 4 in the morning) from back home. they are either from banks promotion about a new 'free' credit card, insurance..etc etc

but i received this today and it made me laugh....darn, i do miss local jokes back home...

"Nathan asks dad the difference between confident and confidential...
Dad says, "You are my son, I am confident. Your friend, Ramu, is also my son, it's confidential...."

thanks sharon...for your waking up sms... ;)

:: NKF/SG.blogger versus Amsterdam/Nude Beach::

I think if you are given a choice between the two....the answer would be obvious.... that was whyI have not blogged at all about the news back home lately.

It did not mean that I did not follow the NKF saga and Bloggers.SG that just ended over the weekend. Yes, I still read about news back home daily and missing ChannelNewsasia already...here its all about the London bombing....every single day!

The weekend was good, it was the first real summer for me since I am able to take off my shirt and walk around the beach, and so are about few hundreds of Dutch danes...needless to say, it was a 'boob-a-looza'.

On Saturday was a quick get-away to Amsterdam...quick because a co-worker felt...err....sick from all the smokey joints. It was only for 4 hours that I did not even get a chance to see women in window displays - selling themselves in the red light district...Amsterdam is a dirty city, it was nothing but sleaze and marijuana, and they are exploiting and loving every single part of it. All the souvenir stuff revolve around it. I don't like this city much, I still prefer Paris anytime.

And on Sunday was a nice short walk across the hotel to a nude beach...hehehe. I did not know there existed a beach like that nearby, it was by sheer coincidence that my beach-walk brought me to a place where you can 'naturists' can sun-tan naked. But it was mostly by the not-so-young kind of crowd... :)

Here are some more pics of Amsterdam and Scheveningen, The Hague - Holland.



So sorry if I cannot seemed to be bothered so much about the news back home....and no, I am not stoned nor buffed if that was what you are wondering....

:: mini Holland ::

after collecting my fresh laundry and undies - straight from work, i decided to take a walk to a nearby park called Madurodam.

this park offers the whole of holland - landmarks, famous places, buildings, etc on a scale of 1:25. in short (no pun intended), it's really a good starting point to 'see' the netherlands, in a nutshell...really.

at 12 EU, i think it's worth all the effort instead of travelling all over holland...as i am a lazy traveller of the netherlands. and my souvenir from this visit? a marijuana t-shirt labelled 'amsterdam' ...hahah, since i am not a druggie, reckon this is the best other option that i can consider..

and being ever so unprepared, i did not bring any camera, but instead, i took this pics using my mobile phone....so, bear with the lousy quality, ok?









and hey, there's the SIA plane too... :P

:: lovely summer night ::

it was a rather lovely evening today.

after work, i rushed 'home' to send my dirty clothes to a nearby indian laundry shop. it was a good deal as they charged based on a bundle. for instance, to wash,dry and iron my shirt, it will cost only 1.45 EU as compared to 7.35 EU of what the hotel charges. even though it is an expense item, my cashflow is running really, really quick here.

took a stroll...wait a minute, i don't stroll...i walk pretty fast by nature...so it ended up like a mini jog actually along the beach nearby the hotel. it was crowded, despite the fact that it is almost 8.00 pm by the time i ended my walk. how i wished i have my roller-blade with me now...like the french, many dutch roller-blade too, but not as popular as cycling though.

this is one of the rare days that i can walk around with only my work clothes without the need for a jacket. and come tomorrow evening, i will have fresh rounds of undies...horray!

:: boujoir! ::

i am back to the hague, straight away to work the moment i arrived the train station. having the office directly about the train station does help, i guess to get things done pronto!

work whole day, just had japanese dinner and now its almost 12 midnight.

dead tired, with the unpacking and re-checking in the hotel...time to sort clothes to be sent to the laundry, else i have no clean undies to wear the next few days.

will write about paris, i promise....no, not about paris hilton again, but it's really about paris...the city which i think i will wanna go again :)

au revoir!

:: boujour! ::

:: paree..here i come ::

its more hectic now rather than back home.

i have not even ventured into the surrounding areas in the hague, but yet, will be leaving to paris over the weekend. i should not even considered it as a holiday as i really do not have any idea about what to expect.

you see, i never liked europe as a holiday destination, and so, because of this, i do not know what 'tourist-y' things to do here.

so later on, in 5 hours, i will be taking the train from the hague to paris and schedule to reach there by midnight there...and i am doing this straight from work...only with a haversack and direction on how to reach the hotel.

i hope to see some pics, if i am in the mood...and if i really like the place, perhaps i will visit paris again by bus which will only cost 39 EUR here.

see you all again on monday...bon cheri!

ps: weather sucks again today....cloudy, drizzle and grey grey skies...

:: so, London's got it eh ::

I really miss all the IOC proceedings in Singapore..I really do.

If I am home, I would have followed all the live coverage on TV, newspaper and perhaps even might drop by at Raffles City just to take a peak at the celebrities who were in town.



Guess Victoria Beckham would have missed me at the celebration party eh?

But too bad, I was rooting for Paris as I am going there this weekend....guess you can't have all, can't you?

:: finally, I got shampoo::

its not pantene or head and shoulders...but its lux shampoo which i could not find here..

so, bought garnier fruits instead...hehehe. now, my hair is really clean and healthy (i hope :))

miss mumbles, email me your address..i will still send you a postcard though :)

:: the sun is shining every so brightly into my room, and it is almost 9 pm! ::

being a night person, it is hard for me to adapt to the full sunshine which will last from about 5 in the morning to about 10 pm at night...

when i try to fall asleep, it is still bright, when i wake up it is still bright...and when i return from work, it is STILL bright...

i miss the darkness...and i am drawing the curtains just to create an illusion that it is indeed...night. perhaps i will become a dracula soon and will start smoking pot soon...hahaha..

i am still not well rested, my eye bags will explode soon...and i just remember that i have forgotten to bring my own shampoo...cannot find it here....guess what kind of shampoo is that and i will perhaps, send you a postcard from here :)

good day...err...night!

:: scenes while walking around from work ::

there are many interesting sights from the location of my office, Dee Haag Central Station (which is like our Raffles Place or City Hall MRT station-equivalent lah!)

it's hard to take any photo in holland without taking the tram lines which are overhanging on the sky-line of your photo shots :P

the hague is clean, and i am getting used to the city already.

:: not another sunny day ::

its almost 9 am, and the dark clouds appear. but its funny because it is not 'gloomy' and 'bleak' as yesterday as the sun was shining happily. so gung-ho that i wanted to take a walk to the park nearby, but the bloody cold gush of wind made me changed my mind and took the jacket and walk around indoors instead :)

:: it's really nice to walk a little further sometimes ::

:: Morning walk to work ::

:: 9 am or 9 pm?? ::

I have finally have the time by myself..and it is 9 pm now.

But it is still bright and sunny outside - despite the cold strong winds blowing.

I am very, very tired today...started with the 13 hour flight from SG to Amsterdam.
The Krisworld entertainment system hanged down on me...that too, didn't help the journey...


And the rain and heavy luggage in between the trains and trams transfers did not help.

But at least, I have reached here safe and sound - an a wireless internet account too.
Since I am too tired to write more, I share this pictures to you.


1) View from the office
2) All alone in the welcoming 'orientation'
3) Casino that I will walk by everyday to the tram station
4) Bleak and grey summer....

Will catch up with more pictures and stories soon...cheers! Its time for me to have an early day...err..night. It is going to be a long, long day tomorrow at work.

By the way, the place that I am staying is at the circle area in the picture below:

I am still hoping for the real summer to appear and less winter to come....

:: 1 more day to go ::

been very busy with errands, lunches, dinners and other last minute appointments.

still have not packed my luggage for the trip - please wish me luck that i do not forget anything that is essential.

will catch up soon :)

cheers!