Darn! As more sites are banned by I.T., I now can’t even get in Blogger to pen my thoughts during boring and dry work periods. Blog has been quiet for a while….its funny as I usually do write in stuff which I encountered or experienced such as trips and holidays.
Perhaps now with things like FB, pple find it less enticing to share on a blog. FB is so “instant” and so Ba qua! But everyone enjoys that. I have expressed before the worry of everything moving so fast, and now I feel it has come to another level.
Half of 2010 is over…and during this time, I actually made a trip to Europe!! Yes far away Europe but yet it surprisingly seem like it was a trip to …gulp maybe KL or Tw! Why? during these past 6mths, I have become more and more restless and getting bored with everything in like 3 seconds. Oh dear. I dunno if its just me or just about everyone in modern society feels the same? Maybe its certainly better to go slow on the internet stuff and finding out every single thing that is happening.
I don’t like this feeling. Europe – specifically this time – my dream place London is one of those places that worshipped since I was 13 yrs old! Everything that is brit is cool to me. I wanted to go to Smash Hits land all the time, dreaming of the cool and funky music and fashion. Finally, I got a chance to visit London in March. Yes, it was nice…but I didn’t feel that type of excitement and anticipation as I thought I would have. Sign of aging? Perhaps. Or maybe that dam Goggle Maps? Before the trip, I was busily checking out where was Euston Road – the street where the YHA I booked was at. I saw the street, the shops, the cars, the mood of London even before I reached! When I finally arrived…hey, everywhere is familiar already. How can anything be new and exciting like that?
In fact, the exciting thing was when we were about to land into Heathrow, and the pilot left the communication with the Control Tower on the PA system. “SQ318, cleared for landing!”….in a crisp British accent came over the plane…wow! I was so excited!! We were nearing ENGLAND! LONDON! Ok that was about it. We took the A380 plane for the first time too. And thank goodness it was a smooth and comfortable ride. The plane was spacious and quiet. In fact, it felt that we took a short coach ride to KL. Honest. That’s the beauty of travelling direct I guess. Haha.
Over the 2 weeks, we went to London, Painswick, Paris and Switzerland. Everywhere in Europe was beautiful due to the spring flowers and generally fine weather but it still wasn’t the WOW like what I felt maybe a few years back. Everything seems to be ok only. Probably a sign of getting older I sure. I hope. Montreux was particularly beautiful with the lakefront and the crazy pretty flowers and snow capped mountains. And Painswick was quiet and peaceful. Paris was just filled with beautiful fashionable goods (eg hong kong high end boutiques) but it was not romantic. Honest. Maybe only during midnight where the lamp lit streets are filled with emptiness. All these, yes they were nice there and then, but when I was back, they were just forgotten in almost an instant. Sad. There is no lingering memory, just perhaps a photographic one.
In fact, the surprisingly thing is that my trip to USA 2 years ago was er…more memorable!? Why? I dunno. Let me think. Jumping out of the subway into the streets of New York with the big yellow taxi…I remembered that feeling very well! It was just wow…that moment, the “I can’t believe I am here!!” feeling. Maybe because NYC is very far away? Trip to US is very high risk? NYC is often portrayed on TV and movies? Hmmm…maybe the last answer is it. Yes, its more glamorous and of course after the 4 hr flight to HK, 6 hours in transit and then 15 hours to NYC…yes of course you feel a great sense of achievement! HAHA. No seriously, I remember Times Square very well. There is a vibe to NYC. Things are not as trendy as London or Paris but the vibe was different. I think maybe Europe is more a cultured place with history while NYC/USA is more a place with the entertainment and fun factor. Just like the Americans – the people who talk loudly, talk crap and do lots of silly things. Times square was filled with tourist shops, broadway (far more exciting than London West End), fast food and theme restaurants…and the David Letterman studio. Boy! Was I happy when I saw that – I mean we see David Letterman on TV, him running down to the deli with foreign staff….and now I am part of that scene!
NYC was also rather cool with the many apt lofts, edgy fashion shops. We went on to Chicago via a Greyhound bus (middle of the night ride), and took 3 domestic flights to Chicago from Buffalo and back to NYC. Chicago was less exciting but nonetheless, a nice quiet place.
Conclusion – Maybe its not the place but the journey and experiences and expectation. So can we apply that in life as well? To make our life more exciting?
Perhaps now with things like FB, pple find it less enticing to share on a blog. FB is so “instant” and so Ba qua! But everyone enjoys that. I have expressed before the worry of everything moving so fast, and now I feel it has come to another level.
Half of 2010 is over…and during this time, I actually made a trip to Europe!! Yes far away Europe but yet it surprisingly seem like it was a trip to …gulp maybe KL or Tw! Why? during these past 6mths, I have become more and more restless and getting bored with everything in like 3 seconds. Oh dear. I dunno if its just me or just about everyone in modern society feels the same? Maybe its certainly better to go slow on the internet stuff and finding out every single thing that is happening.
I don’t like this feeling. Europe – specifically this time – my dream place London is one of those places that worshipped since I was 13 yrs old! Everything that is brit is cool to me. I wanted to go to Smash Hits land all the time, dreaming of the cool and funky music and fashion. Finally, I got a chance to visit London in March. Yes, it was nice…but I didn’t feel that type of excitement and anticipation as I thought I would have. Sign of aging? Perhaps. Or maybe that dam Goggle Maps? Before the trip, I was busily checking out where was Euston Road – the street where the YHA I booked was at. I saw the street, the shops, the cars, the mood of London even before I reached! When I finally arrived…hey, everywhere is familiar already. How can anything be new and exciting like that?
In fact, the exciting thing was when we were about to land into Heathrow, and the pilot left the communication with the Control Tower on the PA system. “SQ318, cleared for landing!”….in a crisp British accent came over the plane…wow! I was so excited!! We were nearing ENGLAND! LONDON! Ok that was about it. We took the A380 plane for the first time too. And thank goodness it was a smooth and comfortable ride. The plane was spacious and quiet. In fact, it felt that we took a short coach ride to KL. Honest. That’s the beauty of travelling direct I guess. Haha.
Over the 2 weeks, we went to London, Painswick, Paris and Switzerland. Everywhere in Europe was beautiful due to the spring flowers and generally fine weather but it still wasn’t the WOW like what I felt maybe a few years back. Everything seems to be ok only. Probably a sign of getting older I sure. I hope. Montreux was particularly beautiful with the lakefront and the crazy pretty flowers and snow capped mountains. And Painswick was quiet and peaceful. Paris was just filled with beautiful fashionable goods (eg hong kong high end boutiques) but it was not romantic. Honest. Maybe only during midnight where the lamp lit streets are filled with emptiness. All these, yes they were nice there and then, but when I was back, they were just forgotten in almost an instant. Sad. There is no lingering memory, just perhaps a photographic one.
In fact, the surprisingly thing is that my trip to USA 2 years ago was er…more memorable!? Why? I dunno. Let me think. Jumping out of the subway into the streets of New York with the big yellow taxi…I remembered that feeling very well! It was just wow…that moment, the “I can’t believe I am here!!” feeling. Maybe because NYC is very far away? Trip to US is very high risk? NYC is often portrayed on TV and movies? Hmmm…maybe the last answer is it. Yes, its more glamorous and of course after the 4 hr flight to HK, 6 hours in transit and then 15 hours to NYC…yes of course you feel a great sense of achievement! HAHA. No seriously, I remember Times Square very well. There is a vibe to NYC. Things are not as trendy as London or Paris but the vibe was different. I think maybe Europe is more a cultured place with history while NYC/USA is more a place with the entertainment and fun factor. Just like the Americans – the people who talk loudly, talk crap and do lots of silly things. Times square was filled with tourist shops, broadway (far more exciting than London West End), fast food and theme restaurants…and the David Letterman studio. Boy! Was I happy when I saw that – I mean we see David Letterman on TV, him running down to the deli with foreign staff….and now I am part of that scene!
NYC was also rather cool with the many apt lofts, edgy fashion shops. We went on to Chicago via a Greyhound bus (middle of the night ride), and took 3 domestic flights to Chicago from Buffalo and back to NYC. Chicago was less exciting but nonetheless, a nice quiet place.
Conclusion – Maybe its not the place but the journey and experiences and expectation. So can we apply that in life as well? To make our life more exciting?
