2007 Travel Writing Competition Award

Moved to greener pastures ! Read more about my travel adventures at http://travelrevelry.livejournal.com

In 2007, I took my trusty Fuji Camera, a backpack, a mini Ashworth luggage and flew to Europe in deep winter hoping to find some of life's bite-sized epiphanies. I landed myself in Germany's police station, nearly got nabbed in Paris, witnessed a demonstration in Paris, had nothing to eat for Christmas in Germany, had very bad toe cramps in Prague; but I stumbled upon streaks of inspiration and splashes of love in Leipzig, in Amersterdam; from graffitiis on stone walls, from the sidewalks, from crawling into solitude, from watching snowflakes on New Year's Eve and counting every star.

MOVED to greener pastures !

Hello all !

I have moved to greener pastures. More of my travel adventures on
http://travelrevelry.livejournal.com


See you !

:)

At a glance

Nothing to boast about, nothing glamourous.
Just another travel writer globetrotting around Europe, looking for inspiration, searching for herself. It's Europe on a shoestring, with hardly anything but her backpack, a trusty camera and some courage.

Occupation: Undergraduate, Political Science major & freelance travel writer
-Travel writer of Wheels Asia
-Chief Editor of the NUS Sports Publications (2008)
-Chief Editor of Politeia (2005-2006)

A Jewelry Entrepreneur who translates remnants of her creative juices into something useful
www.heremerald.blogspot.com

Favourite Travel Quote:
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” St Augustine

Watch this space

...for my New Zealand trip with 'adventure kiwi' ! I assure you there will be bungee jumping and more!

a big 'thank you' to the judges, sponsors-New Zealand Specialist, voters, friends and readers that made the grand prize winning possible :)

watch this space for my future(and past) travel musings, I will be consolidating my globetrotting experiences on this single blog.

P.S I will be away from MAY 12th -JUNE 16th to Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjin, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Chendu, Hong Kong, Macau. Keep on reading ! :)

Final swansong

:: Mr Yeo, Nieuwendijk St, 15th December 2007 ::

:: Soren and I, Amsterdam, 18th December 2007 ::

:: At the pub with Elvis from Southern France ::

* Sings 'this is my country, this is my land, we are Singapore...' Patriotism ! whoot!

:: In the forest, Leipzig, Germany, 23rd December 2007 ::


:: Louvre, Paris, 7th January 2008 ::

-Some of my favourite shots on my list-

Pictures and stories...we wonder why sometimes we feel the need to go over them again. Just so for me, one winter later, perhaps more far away from peace; I can call upon yesterday's winter more than just in sensations and thoughts. Trust not those memories altered by time.
Just so that between waking up on misty mornings and the first note of the breaking dawn, I know for sure that this had not been just one faded vacation, dusted and shelved.

Thank you dear readers, whoever you are- an avid or a coincidental one. The point is, you stopped by to read this, whether or not it was for the pictures, for the content or for pure entertainment. This blog has come to an end. Thank you for travelling with me, it's been my pleasure.

Steering Paris

Our flight was delayed for more than one and a half hours. The pilot muttered something about the heavy fog in Paris that hampered the flight.

:: Impatient and tired travellers ::

:: I witnessed a peaceful demonstration at Paris' airport. Led by those wearing the neon orange signs. Apparently, it's a workers' demonstration. How cool, you can never see something like that in Sunny Singapore. Not since the Hock Lee bus riots ::
Bonjour ! Paris is one the most amazing cities I've been to on this trip. It is mind-blowing and one of a kind.Paris left me the strongest impression, amongst the many cities I've visited. If there are two words to describe it, they would be 'amazing' and 'beautiful'. Simple words, but Paris is true to these meanings.

I talked to an Italian lady on my trip and it was her fourth trip to Paris. I asked her why did she returned so frequently and she said "for holiday, and it's beautiful". We went to a bar near where we stayed and Elvis who lived in Southern France has lived in Paris for SIX long years and he said this, " I have not seen everything in Paris".

What I offer to show you on this blog is of course, mere snippets from a five day stay here. What is so attractive about Paris is hard to pinpoint. Maybe it's the air of joie de vivre. Or the way I felt like was steering Paris in my own private car. Or maybe it's the unexplainable excitement that hung in the Parisian air. They say, when you visit a place and it leaves you hungry and yearning for more of it, that place has made successful travelling for you.

Myths and common misconceptions I would like to debunk about Paris:
1. People are snobbish
2. The French refuse to speak English to tourists
3. People are unfriendly (I've talked to so many strangers there and other like-minded tourists)

Truths:
1. Paris is expensive, especially around the main city center.
2. The French are fun and funny
3. The Metros are really dirty

We stayed in the outskirts of the city center, and I have been to the suburbs of Paris to visit their flea markets,etc. To begin with, I am never one who is graatified drawing up conclusions just by visiting the city center. They only show the best, the most modern attractions to you.
In the outskirts, I felt more like I was somewhere in Africa, maybe Madagascar or something. Even the names of the shops, like "Afrique Land" made you believed so. There are many Africans residing in Paris. Unsurprisingly, they reside more in the outskirts than in the main city center. The few I spotted in the main city center could be counted on one hand, and they were all immaculately dressed.

:: Situated near Montmarte in the red light district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy ::


:: All dressed up for the glitzy affair @ Moulin Rouge. The dress code was 'elegant'. I loved the black silken gloves I bought in Germany :) ::

We were not allowed to snap photos during the Cabaret muscial (well, it's Cabaret afterall ) so I only snapped photos after. A little history perhaps, it was a rest between two wars, a period of transition between two centuries, during which the social barriers collapsed, when the industrial revolution gave hope of a better life for all, in a rich cultural profusion and that promised much fun. And from that, bloomed Moulin Rouge, traditional cabaret performance. Tickets are priced at €89 (without dinner) but I reckon, terrific live performance that exceeded my expectations.

:: Eiffel tower in the day. So sturdy, you could lean on it ! :::: Eiffel tower by dusk. And yes, I could hold it in my hands, muahaha ::

:: Eiffel tower by night. At sporadic intervals, the tower turns sparkly like a thousand shiny stars competing for something ::

:: Eiffel tower up-close and personal. It's a giant I tell you. The Queue and waiting time is 45 min to an hour. We gave it a miss and walked for half an hour to take the giant ferris wheel instead. Afterall, they serve the same purpose :: You know when the Europeans say "it's just a 15 min walk " or "it's just round the corner", it;s NEVER just round the corner by Singaporean standards. By the time I walked from the Eiffel Tower to the ferris wheel, I was breathless. It was a half an hour hike and I had to cross 2 big bridges. Ok, so maybe I'm just weak.

::The 100-metre tall giant ferris wheel that cost 9 Euros per pax.
The ferris wheel is big but it is is only a quarter of the Eiffel Tower's height ::

:: I love heights and dangling in the air! The higher the better. This beats the para-sailing I did in Pattaya, Thailand::

:: At Montmarte, this shop called Pylon sells the most interesting and eye-catching kitchen/household wares.

What a great business idea ;)
At the same time, check out my non-shiny leather Morgan boots, purchased it at a discounted rate in Paris ! Boots in Amsterdam are more costly than those in Paris, argh.

:: Cute alligator-shaped pizza cutters ::
:: Pylon's cute umbrellas! I was so tempted to buy but they were 20 Euros each (SGD 40, ouch!) :::: Traditional French food- Crepes! Expensive, even at the roadside stalls! This costs me 5 Euros at a restaurant (SGD 10 and I think this is so easy to make) ::

:: At the suburb with my new-found Afrique friends, haha ::

Winter and willpower

Sometimes winter can be so exhilarating. It makes me wanna dance, write a poetry or raise my hands like this,. I reached down to touch the snow and they felt like powdered dust.

:: Leipzig, East Germany, 23rd December 2007 ::

Or come up with ridiculous poses like this :

:: The Sphinx statue outside the Imperial Palace, Vienna ::

Other times, it can be quite torturous.
Like the awfully cold and wet Vienna weather and hailstorms. Add to that, the load of your backpack.


:: Vienna (Wien), 30th December 2007 ::

The cold is comforting, but it is also powerful and frightening.
Most of the times though, when it's awfully cold and snowy, it's beautiful.
Snow-scapes are amazing. Pristine whiteness. Now, this is what I call, "walking in the winter wonderland",

It snowed in Hamburg, Leipzig and Vienna when I was in these places. Beautiful, each one carried a different tune.