Cairo via Dubai ( 20 Dec to 27 Dec 2006)

I know it is bit odd for me to write of my sojourn to Cairo especially when it done in Dec 2006, however, I have to admit this is certainly one of the most captivating experiences I had ever come upon. (At least for now). Even the journey from the airport to the hotel was an experience by itself as Cairo city was steeped with history with many of its buildings and sidewalks filled Christian, Islamic and ancient Egyptian influences.

At Day One, with the aid of a tour guide, we headed down to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquties. At the front of the museum, we were greeted by a pond filled with Blue Lotus Flowers and a patch of papyrus plants in the middle. In ancient Egypt, the leaves from the papyrus plants were used to make paper (In fact, it was claimed that the Egpyptians was the first ones to invent paper) whereas the Blue Lotus flowers growing on the pond were placed into wine during feasting in order for them to get high.

The relics in the museum held truly amazing Egpytian treasures including mummies, sarcophagus (Tombs used to placed the mummies) ,hierogliphics inprinted into stone/paper,ancient Egyptian jewellery, etc. In fact, the most famous artefact in the museum was the tomb and treasures King Tutakhamun. As you are aware, every archeologist whom has excavated the tomb of King Tut at the Valley of Kings in Luxor someone died an unnatural/cursed death. The items in the excavated tomb was truly ostentatious, the sacorphagus was gilded with gold and the jewellery buried with him was just simply dazzling.

And should you examine the hieroglific drawings on the sacorphagus in detail, you would realize how brilliant the Egyptians are: the drawings were all in symmetry and every space in between the drawings were all spaced out equally.

As the day turned to dusk, our tour guide brought us to the Nile River for a relaxing dinner cruise. During the cruise, we were entertained by ancient Egpytian dances including belly dancing and a dance where this guy could twirl his skirt using one hand and make it into a canopy/umbrella whilst savouring the night scene of Cairo right outside our ship.

At Day 2, we headed off slightly outside Cairo to the Great Pyramids of Giza. The journey to point zero was done via riding a camel/horse. Our journey was without lots of shrieking and shouting as many were not accustomed to bopping up and down the desert on a camel, not to mentioned sand blowing into your eyes when the sudden gusts of wind blew at our direction.

When we reached the pyramids, we were at awe at the sight of such a marvellous invention. Quick summary,the Great pyramids of Giza consists of three pyramids (And 3 smaller ones for the queens) and is believed to be constructed around 4500 years ago. The largest pyramid is the pyramid of Khufu and is touted to be the only remaining Seven wonders of the World. The ancient Egyptians believed that death on earth was the beginning to the next wrold. The embalmed body of the king would be entombed within the pyramid to protect and allow the transformation into afterlife and a place among the Gods.

Adjacent to the Great Pyramids is the famous Sphinx; a monument which consist of a body of a lion and head of a man. The nose had been snipped off, rumoured to be accidentally chiselled off by Napolean during his French campaign in Egypt from 1798-1801.

We had the opportunity to visit one of the tombs that was recently excavated by the officials, and the experience was just surreal. The body has been transported to the Museum of Antiquities and what remained was the sacorphagus which had to be built from underground using the limestone available as the entrance to the tomb was too small for the sacorphagus to be transported into the site.

At night of Day 2, we were entertained by a light and sound show which used an array of lights and sounds on the Great Pyramids/Sphinx to depict the history/stories of ancient Egypt.

On Day 3, we decided to head down to the famous Khan El-Khalili Bazaar. Well known for its medieval Egyptian atmosphere, the bazaar was bustling with activity. The labyrinth-like streets were filled tourists and locals browsing through the large array of shops and side stalls selling unusual oriental souvenirs, handmade crafts,
sheeshas, clothing, and so on. According to a few travel books which I read previously, it is recommended that you buy the belly dancing costumes as prices here are reasonable and there are many varieties to choose from.

We ended the bazaar experience in a cafe, sipping Egyptian tea and getting a puff of Apple flavoured sheesha before heading off back to our hotel.

Manchester, United Kingdom (9-13 Feb)

Flying to Manchester reminded me of the glory days of Man U when Eric Cantona was captain and where the Theatre of Dreams was certainly stuff of dreams for most guys.

During my teenage days ( Back in Malaysia), soccer fans were divided into 2:- The Man U fans and Non-Man Fans. Teenage boys would have 'had it made' if they were to get their hands on the red or white coloured Man U jersey which would obviously seal their identity as a true fan.

10 yrs later, I had the privilege to visit this particular part of the United Kingdom. The city is mainly industrial with many brick layered houses similar to each other. Fortunately, the temperature wasn't too chilly when i got there, approximately 7 celcius.

Our first day mainly consisted of visiting Chinatown for the duck noodles and other Chinese delicacies. This was followed thereafter by a big round of shopping. Many of my friends and myself enjoyed shopping in this budget outlet called Primark, and the things there were certainly value for money.

I bought a winter jacket for just $5 pounds and a pair suede boots for just $15 pounds. Primark in the UK is somewhat similiar to the Carrefour here which sold everything from clothing, sweaters, household items, all at unbelievable prices. Some of the items were even cheaper than those in Singapore!

Day 2 consisted of a visit to the Old Trafford Stadium. Just outside the stadium were flowers and messages of condolences to victims for the 1958 Munich Air Crash. On 6th February 1958, the plane carrying the Manchester United football team, crashed on takeoff on a snow covered runway at Munich Airport, West Germany. Seven members of the team died in the crash, and an eighth (Duncan Edwards) died a few days later from serious injuries. Eight accompanying journalists and three club officials also perished in the crash. Matt Busby, the manager, survived after a long illness. Bobby Charlton, defender Bill Foulkes and the goalkeeper Harry Gregg were among the survivors of the crash. It was definitely as sad moment for Man U.

Inside the stadium consisted of a museum which explained the history of the club and players. There was also a trophy room which paraded the large array of trophies and awards that Man U had obtained throughout. In the museum was also a section dedicated solely for the 1958 Munich Air Crash.

As planned, we decided to go for a tour of the Theatre of Dreams. The tour was pretty amazing in which the tour guide ( a very enthusiastic one as well) brought us around the benches, press room, prep room before the matches, the dining room, the lockers and even their bath and jacuzzi area!

The day ended with us returning to Manchester City to do a little bit of shopping and a light meal before retreating to our respective hotel rooms.

Abu Dhabi, UAE (17 Jan - 22 Jan)

I recently travelled to Abu Dhabi and had the privilege to spend approximately 4 days there. As soon as the plane touched down on this beautiful part of the U.A.E
( United Arab Emirates), we were greeted by the sight of endless white sand and the most remarkable airport architecture that I have ever set my eyes on. Instead of the ubiqitious shapes that you see in airports, the sand coloured edifice were shaped similiar to a ball-like structure with each ball connected via a passageway. The buildings created a surreal feeling like it came straight from the set of Star Wars Episode IV or Dune.

While on the bus to city centre, I was immediately struck by the sheer cleanliness of the entire stretch of road despite the long distance from the airport to the city. ( approx 30 mins). The roads were lined with palm trees,sprawling white/sand coloured bungalows and beautiful white-washed mosques. Either the city council has a remarkable team of cleaners or the citizens were extremely neat and clean people to actually maintain such clean living.

We eventually reached the city centre and finally to our hotel. However, as it was nearing night, my friends and myself quickly changed to grab a bite before retreating into our hotel room.

Day 2 consisted of slight visit around the city centre and of course, the shopping mall! As with all girls, we heard that Abu Dhabi was similar to Dubai, that is, everything here is tax free. Therefore, we visited Marina Mall which carries big brands such as Nine West, Zara, Mango, LV, Gucci, etc. The mall had perpetual sales going on everywhere causing us gals go into a shopping frenzy!Unfortunately, having moved out recently, I was in a budgetary fix and prevented myself to make impulse purchases. Many are very happy with the life here as education, expenses were all within reach, which may not be as accessible to some of them in their own countries.

After hectic day of shopping, most of us got a chance to look at the buildings around the city. Each buildings had very unique and individual design, some of it just breathtaking. There was this building which just had a huge ball at the top! Recently, I have a friend that mentioned the architecture of the city actually represents the lifestyle or the social structure of the society there, which got me thinking.

Even though the city was in the middle east, there were many migrants of all nationalities coming into the city, especially into the service industry. Many of them were given good pay, free accommodation and schooling for their kids in international schools. This was not only exclusive to CEO, CFO or directors, but also to ppl with everyday jobs such as tour guides, waiters, front office, etc. The unique designs represented the vast number of migrants in the city while the cleanlines n beauty represented the simplicity and comforts the citizens enjoyed.

Of course, the adventurous and impulsive me decided to do something while in Abu Dhabi. At day 3 I went Dune Bashing, sand skiing, camel riding and seesha smoking. I enjoyed the sand skiing part, however, it took quite a bit of effort to actually get to the top of the hill before i could actually ski down! Having smoked sheesha and done camel riding in Cairo recently, the activites were not as fun as previously.

Day 4 consisted of sleep, watching tonnes of cable and of course, flying back to good ole Singapore!

Osaka, Japan (29 Jan-31 Jan)

Osaka has always been one of my favourite places to travel to. Sheer cleanliness, people who have a proper system getting in n out of the subway system and on escalators, quirky, innovative items, trendy fashion and vending machines that virtually sell everything!

And of course, (drumroll...)the land of the rising sells my favourite bags, BURBERRY BLUE label. As we know, the ubiquitous Burberry is sold at every civilised country imaginable. From what i hear, due to the high demand of branded goods in Japan, Burberry decided to launch a younger label for Japanese youths, hence the Burberry Blue label was born. The Blue label still retains its signature checks, however, the colours are more girlish and subdued compared to the original label. And of course, as the bags are targeted at youths, the bags are much more affordable; a large bag costs about S$360 in comparison to a regular Burberry Bag which can go up to S$1200!

A trip to downtown 'Numbar' is an adventure by itself. The unique little shops along the way promises fashionable wearable winter outfits, accessories,etc. E.g: If you are obsessed with tights, Osaka offers a wide variety, with many tights offering very intricate details such as lace at the bottom, ribbons at the side, etc. Sometime you ponder of a country that has so much tradition embedded in the work/social system, the residents certainly know how to express themselves fashionably, in comparison to us South East Asian counterparts.

This is not only confined to fashion ,but also product, and even packaging of food items. All you need to do is to browse down any shopping mall in Japan and you can find innovative household inventions by the Japanese that makes life so much more convenient. Even food is packaged so prettily, I had to control myself from purchase biscuits just because of its packaging! ( As I was saving up for my Burberry Blue Label)

The only drawback about Osaka is the language barrier. English is not prevalent here which prevents you from really enjoying Osaka to the fullest.

Should you have time to travel beyond Osaka, not too far away is Kobe and Kyoto. Kobe is the original land of Kobe beef. You probably read about Wagyu beef before ( esp with the opening ( And closing!) of 101 burger in Singapore). Kobe is the original founder the Wagyu. The cows are massaged frequently and fed with beer to make the beef extremely tender, hence is great taste and its greater price. Kyoto whereas is the oldest city in Japan, with many historical temples still around and of course, geishas ( Popularised by the book/movie Memoirs of a Geisha).

Ok, back to Osaka, a trip to Osaka/Japan is never complete if you never visited the 100 yen shop. Never has any of my friends and I walked out of the 100 yen shop with no purchases!. You never know what kind of interesting items you can get there all for the price of 100 yen (approx S$1.30 at time of writing this blog). During this trip, I bought a few pairs of fake eyelashes which hopefully one day, I would have the courage to put it on. :)

Our lunch and dinner in Japan was certainly nothing short of fantastic. You can choose a variety of soups ranging from fish, pork, chicken, all tasty and of course, wonderfully packaged. Outside the restaurant, mock/fresh ingredients would be displayed and packaged and arranged in bowls, plates similiar to what would be served inside to allow customers to visualize what will be served in the meal. To aid customers esp foreigners, a price tag is usually available at the side.

We ended our Osaka trip with an ice-cream fest in Baskin Robbins! The taste was somewhat richer in comparison to my last Baskin Robbin in Malaysia. We reckon that it was the fact that they might have used the local cow milk instead. Our trip to Osaka was certainly a blast and we look forward to another trip to Japan!

New Blog, New life, New place

2007 certainly is a brand new start for me. Having survived a break up from a 5 yr long distance relationship just last December, I am now ~*fabulously*~ single, made a move from city convenient Bishan to airport convenient Tampines, got myself broadband ( after 1 entire yr of dial up!), a new laptop and or course, a blog!

If you are curious of the website name ' BeautyAddictAsylum', it is due to the fact that I am a total beauty junkie. I have at least 5-6 different types of toners, moisturizers, cleansers, primers, make-up removers,etc. In fact, I have tried practically most beauty brands imaginable from luxurious Lancome to the good ole Loreal, Maybelline etc. I would like to think that I am actually trying to retain whatever youth i have left, but in actual fact I am succumbing to marketing gimmicks most beauty companies spent millions of dollars on.

Enough for now, I will be posting more of my travel sojourns and of course, more of my boring, mundane, middle class life in time to come.