solo sheep sojourns : eindhoven, delft, amsterdam, den haag // 19th june 2007 to 23rd june 2007.

i left london on a surprisingly sunny afternoon and landed in a freshly rained on eindhoven in the evening. it was still sunny though and i quite enjoyed walking around despite having heard about it being a rather industrial little town. there i stayed a night at president's place before taking the train to hun's place in delft the next day.





hun the brownbear was amidst rushing for a submission when i arrived so after a quick but wonderful bike tour of delft in the evening i was pretty much free to and very much encouraged to make my own daytrips to amsterdam and den haag (the hague) in the next few days before we left delft together for our sheep and bear adventures.





amsterdam was confronting. shops and signs and people everywhere - you really don't know where to look and where to go. the weather left me drenched to the core too so that didn't help. i did make it to the van gogh museum on foot though and i really enjoyed it.

i didn't have much time in den haag so i pretty much just walked down the main street while nursing a major and chronic craving for soto ayam....and then i found soto ayam! i was really happy and even had chendol after that too. haha. little joys.





delft actually also reminded of lund quite a bit (except it had alot of canals), so it was heartwarming though a little heartachey too.

solo sheep sojourns : london // 12th june 2007 >> 19th june 2007.

i left lund to travel on 12th june. my first stop was london for a one week transition between the lundlife and the summer backpacking trip. many of my friends and some of my family work/live/play/study in london so it felt like a good place for a relaxed extended stopover before i met up with the brownbear in delft for our sheep and bear adventures in europe (mostly in the countries along the mediterranean)...





in that one week in london i stayed with maner, aida, olivia and met james and barbara (cousin and his wife) for lunch too.

and so, i was always living at friends' places (thanks thanks thanks you all!!) and went out with them sometimes but i spent a fair bit of time walking all over on my own too which was lonely at times yet mostly rather rejuvenating too. spent alot of time in museums, parks, flea markets and maybe a little too much time in the underground. felt like a worm after all that tube-taking from the first few days so i made it a point to walk more instead of taking the tube in the last few days.

home and away.

yesterday president asked me what i missed most about lund and what was my most precious possession from lund..

i told her that at that moment of asking, i was really missing the running places behind sparta. strangely, i hardly took any pictures of it. the neighbourhood behind sparta was where i went walking and running, sometimes with friends and sometimes on my own. it was where i went to get away when the going away got too rough. it was where i could see the horizon when i ran, literally had more space to breathe(and this translates almost directly into emotional space) and felt safe even though it was hardly a familiar place. i guess it was a really open hiding place.

as for my most precious possession from lund, it's hard to say... things don't make sense without the memories and people they are linked with. i treasure the little gifts i got from friends there, memories of many meals shared, crazy self-invented trips, pictures i made throughout the six months on my own and with friends, and i still wear the bracelet that the girls in class got me at the end of the mad and wonderful semester i had together with them.

in other news, i went jogging with my brother at east coast park the other day, it had been a long time since we went on a jog together. after our run, we both felt like eating something, and it funnily turned out to be the same thing! sotongheads on a stick from old chang kee! (i still don't get why they call that bit of the sotong the head, aren't those tentacles legs??) and then i finally had bubble tea (honey ice blend!).

oddly enough, all my food cravings kinda dissolved when i got back to singapore, maybe cos i know that i can now eat the food anytime. but all the same, i was glad to finally have teochew muay with the eastern muay gang after so super long! the food is one thing, but the makan togetherness that is the essence of teochew muay was more the main thing lah. but i was also very happy to eat chai poh neng, fresh sotong, chai buay, and kiam neng again!! oh forgot to order fishcake!! haha nevermind, next round! soon!

hrmm, some of us are still on europe time in all senses of it, a little living in the six hours behind past and all but i guess we will adjust back to life here soon enough. i don't think i will be writing here much anymore, except maybe for lund related stuff. and to post up shots from the great backpacking trip with hun!

as for the friends i made on exchange that are all over the world now.. i know some of you want to know how i'm doing in singapore and all....so sorry that i won't be blogging much but do contact me on facebook or via email to counter the timezone barrier and stay in touch!!