haha... yup i´m in madrid now. jus arrived. not much time so i´ll post up most stuff when my traveling is done ba. but jus 2 let u all noe i´m doing fine n having fun. but i´m missing u all too... hope 2 talk 2 u all real soon! take care!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
haha... jus remembered i took this video when i was loading stuff from my phone 2 my camera. so funny lolz. those who went 4 e steamboat at alvin's place should rmb it.
have a good laugh. i'm so lame. we're all so lame. lol
this one is lamer... better lower e volume cos it's jus screaming. see, that's e machine we use 4 steamboat, n that's louis's finger on it. it's turned on, so it's supposed 2 b hot. but we jus bluffing la, it's amazingly not hot. apparently it heats the steamboat by some kinda convection thing? i'm not really sure too. haha...
hehe... went 2 watch cats the musical today. it was fantastic! absolutely fabulous! first rate! i totally loved it. love the music, and the dancing. wonderful. =)
i went alone, which is a pretty nice experience too.
n yeah, u noe, usually wat happens during the interval? ppl (at least ppl in s'pore) rush 2 e toilet, or go out 4 a smoke, or stretch their legs, rite? haha... here, the ppl went 2 e bar 2 get drinks, and many actually bought ice-cream! imagine, ppl of all ages, some bought ice-cream bars, some in a cup, all sat down at their seats enjoying ice-cream during intermission... boy, i'd love 2 try that in s'pore... heehee...
anyway i'm leaving on thurs le, so u prob won't hear from me very often for about a month. i'll try 2 send emails or update my blog when i'm able 2. but yeah, wish me a smooth n fun trip. =D
my head is swirling, my eyes are blurring and tearing...
i jus calculated my expenses for my europe trip. travel and accommodation set me back 2k... *sobz* for one month... just one month... in one month i've spent more than i've ever spent in...well...any other month.
it's only now that i realise how difficult it is 2 plan a trip. much less a month long trip spanning 5 countries... but i believe all e hard work planning n all e money will b worth e experience n broadening of my world view :)
but jus a note 2 ppl out there. budget air may appear 2 b great, and it can be, but always-i repeat ALWAYS- read e small print. terms n conditions, faqs, reviews etc etc etc. to share my bad experience with all so ppl out there will not fall into a similar trap or get stuck in a bad situation, i have listed a few points about ryanair (which probably applies to any number of budget airlines):
1) make sure u qualify for online check-in, ie. you're an EU or EEA national with valid id. i stupidly ticked online check-in without finding out, only 2 realise later that i couldn't (thanks 2 my friend michelle). this was e cause of e whole trouble.
2) make sure u noe wat e contact numbers are. ryanair lists some numbers on its website, but listen up: ryanair has NO email address listed 4 ppl to email/contact. and the numbers to call are charged at premium rates. no joke. i was put on hold for like 3-4minutes and my pay-as-u-go phone credit dropped to 0GBP from 6GBP... *ouch* if you really need to contact ryanair urgently, i suggest calling the HQ number, which is the ireland number: 0818303030. it puts u on hold 4 awhile, but it is probably the most promising.
3) you're not alone, as i found out, about problems and complications relating to ryanair. plenty of ppl have had negative experiences, and there's a website: http://www.ryanaircampaign.org/ that lists some useful information on contacting ryanair, on some things ppl r trying 2 do 2. it helped me alot...
4) u should noe that there's always alot of hidden charges in budget flights. take note of that, n see if it's really worth it. in the case of ryanair, i can't qualify for online check-in, SO i have to pay 3GBP for airport check-in. u can pack light n have a hand carry, but if u're checking in luggage it costs an additional 6GBP (if u pay 4 it online), or 12GBP (if u pay at e airport). there's of course the processing fee 4 every online transaction u make, apart from the taxes n e flight fare itself. that's y, read the FAQ section, and terms n conditions section ultra carefully...
5) make sure u r familiar with e issues of refunds/compensations in case something goes wrong, eg. ur luggage ends up in france instead of spain where u r. make sure u noe ur rights, who 2 contact when such things happen. don't b led by ur nose from wat some of e working staff say; they might end up making u pay more 4 wat u dun have 2. or if they do, make sure it's refundable, or that there will b some form of compensation.
6) i haven't had e worst of experiences. go 2 almost any travel forum n u can read sob stories hundreds of times worse than mine. go, enjoy, n learn from these people's valuable experiences :P http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/ryan.htm
now, i'm rushing 4 e next big thing: my travels!!! hehe... i'm leaving next thurs le (really soon rite?), n i'll b away for a whole month. so i won't b updating my blog unless i have a chance to. if i can i'll send emails as updates. i'm quite excited. but gotta b so careful about everything, stay safe, save money, plan itinery etc... still, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, n i hope you all will also have this opportunity too one day :D
after my vacation, it's jus another 1 month of sch, den exams, n i'll b back b4 u noe it! haha...
almost done with my essay. i've realised (from quite some time ago) that i can't really stay still n write a whole lot. i keep digressing n doing random stuff, from getting up n walking ard, to googling the stupidest things (i've tried 'i'm feeling lucky' on the words 'procrastinate', 'bored', 'die', 'help' etc etc etc... quite fun actually), to blogging now. starting 2 think i have adhd or something. either that or my procrastinating disorder is getting from bad 2 worse. anyone wanna diagnose me? xuan? :P
at least now i feel it's easy 2 write 1500-2000 word essays... having written 3 in a row in the space of a week. whoo... not a very fun thing. get so tired of writing after a while. ah well... the things we do for our interests.
oh ya, it snowed for like one minute this morning. it was so random. my flatmate ran out 2 try 2 get a picture, cos it was rather pretty, but e moment she went downstairs the snow stopped. dotz... XD
gonna be the most fun one, i think. can think sex n sexuality. lolz. (dun think i'm a pervert k?)
THE BATTLE BETWEEN: RESPECTABLE AND FALLEN WOMEN hehe... my favorite module btw: it has only 1 hour of lessons a week. :P
anyway 4 those who r interested it's about how ppl viewed "fallen" women (those who had pre-marital sex, got pregnant, those who become prostitutes etc...) during the middle 19th C to the start of the 20th C. really interesting how morals n views of such women have changed drastically from then till now. :)
my essay will be on the connections between "respectable" (good virtuous women who r housewifely... *boring*) and "fallen" women. isn't that interesting???
