All For Love

Ps: I'll still keep this blog updated (:

Col 3:23-24

That is Why

Amidst all circumstances, go back to your roots to rekindle that love we found.



That is why.

Shampoo curse

I started my Saturday morning afternoon with a twist of fate. I woke up from my beauty sleep, wanting to take a nice shower but I soon found out that my body shampoo was finishing. Like all concerned mothers, my mum normally buys in bulk and makes me grab an extra of everything, from shampoo to detergent, all the way from home to my hostel in Singapore.

Knowing that I had my back up supplies with me, I quickly grab an extra bottle of body shampoo from my cabinet. Well, it turned out that my mum gave me two shampoo bottles instead of body shampoo and shampoo each. This reminds me of my shampoo incident in hall three years back. What's life without surprises huh? :) I ended up spending the start of my day in the supermarket with the old aunties and uncles. haha

At least I got my door decorated :D Say hi to Momo

Chinese Survey

I participated in a survey a few weeks back and yesterday I was required to drop by the HSS Graduate Office to collect my reimbursement worth 20 dollars. And so I deliberately went to the venue 30 minutes before my class to grab my money. Upon reaching the destination, I was suppose to give a buzz to the person in charge and  I complied. Only after a few rings, a young Chinese gentleman appeared at the door and greeted me.

Chinese guy: 你好！你来这边那钱吗？ (Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ lái zhè biān nà qián ma?)


Me: 对阿！( Duì ā!!)


Chinese guy: 还好吧！你跟我来. (Hái hǎo ba! Nǐ gēn wǒ lái)


I followed him into his office and I was asked to be seated and wait patiently until my turn. I still didn't realize that I was actually volunteering in another survey until he started asking me to fill up my details on a survey form. To be honest, I was still wondering how come I was required to fill up my details again, I already did so 2 weeks ago when I participated in the survey, but my guess was he need the particulars of the respondents to make appropriate claims. 


After doing so, he started explaining to me with a very heavy Chinese accent and all I could do was just nod in agreement. Deep down inside, I knew I was 'conned' into the Chinese Linguistics Research Department surveys but being 'shy in nature', I didn't dare to speak up and told him my intention was just to grab my cash and scoot. 


I was then presented with a series of videos of a person doing several hand actions. I was required to describe in detail what the videos meant to me. 


Chinese guy: Ok 崇贤,请详细描述视频. (Ok Chóng xián,Qǐng xiángxì miáoshù shìpín) Ok CX,please describe the video in detail.


Me: * stares at the video and with my limited Chinese vocab I uttered* 他丢的东西! ( Tā diū de dōngxi ) He threw something.


And this continue for the next 3 minutes as he was showing approximately 15 different videos on a guy throwing things. My guess was he wanted to find out if the respondents knew there were different types of techniques of throwing things. I felt utterly bad because I was definitely the extreme outlier in his findings.


After the series of videos, I had to identify certain characters and at that moment I knew it was GG.com for me.I could only remember 2 characters shown there :D

扔 丢 etc etc

I timidly told him that my chinese is worst than a primary 1 student and he said that it is impossible! He then explained the whole purpose of the survey and I guess I was right. He wanted to identify the difference between a local and PRC ( People Republic of China) on certain usage of words. Apparently, the PRCs are more creative when it comes to describing things as compared to the locals.haha! 

I think the turning point was when I mistakenly heard 钱 (qian,money) instead of 调查(diao cha, survey).My reward for participating in the survey was a simple blue pen but it definitely served a reminder for me to buck up my mandarin!

My Chinese blue pen :D

Ps: Yes, I did get my 20 bucks in the end (:

Simplicity

I find myself doing things a little different recently. Things such as walking to school instead of waiting for the bus, or even walking to a further canteen just to get extra vegetables on my dinner plate.

Things seem to be at a slower pace when you view things in a very simple manner. Maybe I need to retract that statement a few weeks later because it's just the start of a new semester. Maybe I'll even consider organizing a salad party or a fruit fiesta to keep this 'healthy' habit. I can even turn the fruit skins and vegetable waste to black gold.

I just finished talking to my mum on msn/skype and I shall share what we talked about.

Mum: Nik, you know what day is tomorrow or not?
Me: Wednesday? 
Mum: No, It's Koko's birthday
Me: Oh yea
Mum: Remember to wish him you know. I'm waiting for 12 o clock to call him.
Me: Ok!
Mum: After that it will be yours. Don't worry I'll call you as well.
Me: O.O Err. Ok thanks!

Haha! I love to document my simple conversations with my mum! :D

Simplicity.

Life @ NTU

Life in NTU is always interesting. Cheers to all my final year mates! Enjoy it while it last and to the freshies embracing it, endure and learn as much as you (:

Ps: To Sunday Jogging Club (SJC), we will be resuming our regular routine this weekend! I will keep you all informed :D

Learn Chinese

It's funny how I find myself speaking more Mandarin nowadays. I definitely credit this 'huge accomplishment' to my Chinese friends I met when I was in Finland. Ironically, I managed to force myself and muster courage to converse with them. 

I even took the effort to 'invest' some money and of course time to learn more. 

I bought some primary school textbooks to read on my own! xD

To those who think that learning mandarin is an uphill task, it's not that hard if you dare to humiliate yourself in front of your friends. Maybe one day I'll upload videos of myself speaking fluently mandarin. bewhahhaha

Warehouse Sale

For 3 consecutive weekends, I have been shifting things be it for myself or for my friends. I've a whole load of things to get rid off and if anyone wants it just drop me a message.

Items for sale

1) Bar fridge

2) Vacuum cleaner

3) Printer

4) Books, loads of text books ranging from economics to engineering

Of course, don't call me to help me shift your things anymore. I think my back will break already and I can even graduate with a minor in logistics management.

Disinilah

Semalam merupakan peristiwa bersejarah untuk tanah tumpah darahku. Memang amat pelik melihat rakan-rakanku yang tidak memperdulikan keadaan politik di negara, melafazkan semangat patriotik mereka melalui dunia digital. Mungkinkah ini titik perubahan dalam sejarah negara kita? Ataupun kita masih akan terperangkap dalam 'jerumus dan kezaliman' kerajaan kita? 

Tapi apa yang pasti ialah sudah tentu lebih rakyat yang sedar akan kejatuhan zaman kegemilangan negara kita dan inilah masanya untuk kita menyumbang tenaga mencapai Wawasan 2020 yang kian hari kian ragu.

Disinilah aku dilahirkan,

Disinilah tanah tumpah darahku,

Disinilah aku ditunjuk ajar,

Disinilah aku akan dikemubikan.

Akulah anak watan Malaysia.

Guai Lan Kia

This was what I found out at my work place

If you look closer,

printing lady auntie

Tsk tsk, guai lan kia!Si beh pai see (mischievous kid! super naughty and cheeky) (;

At least something that makes my day when i pass by the printing room. haha!

Roma Pass

I have previously wrote on some travel tips on Italy and it can be found here and here.

As for those who intend to go to Rome, I would suggest getting the Roma Pass. This Roma Pass enables you to visit two attractions for free and also a 3 day free transportation around Rome. The problem with Rome is that most of the attractions i.e museums have an entrance fee and it is definitely more worth it getting this pass.

One thing about Rome is that it is a major tourist attraction and the long queues at the tourist attractions will totally spoil your mood. You can queue for almost 2 hours just to get into the Colosseum but if you purchase the Roma Pass, there will be a special lane  for all the Roma Pass holders. There will be also a lot of tour guides camping around the long queues just to convince you that you can skip pass the queue by joining their tour group which in the end is more expensive!

The queue on the left is for tourist to buy the entrance ticket whereas on the right is the lane for Roma Pass users :)

The Roma Pass can be bought in any grocery or sundry stall. I bought mine at the Main Train Station in Roma Termini. I can't exactly remember the price but I guess it was about 25 euros. Oh yes, maps in Italy are not free but it is included in the Roma Pass package.

As for buses and trams in Rome, they are rather straight forward as compared to the tubes in London. Apparently according to my friend, most of the people don't pay for the public transport because nobody checks. So yea if you are short on cash and desperate,.... go make Roma Sandwiches :) 

 Rome Rome Rome

The Cycle

One of my biggest worry upon returning from exchange would be executing 'the cycle'. It's funny how my mind quickly adapts to the cycle that I've been through for the past years. For example, " Oh, it's Saturday and I need to do my laundry today." or even simple things like " It's 7.30pm and I need to grab food from the canteen!" 

Me hanging my clothes for the first time this year. I miss dumping all my clothes in the dryer :D

Do something different from your normal routine. It could be something very simple like taking a detour from the normal route we take to work/school. I'm yet to cook a meal in NTU so yea maybe I'll do it tomorrow (;

Anti You

This is the period where you get to see pitiful souls drag their belongings across halls just because of a 'minor' hiccup in the hall allocation system. Maybe it's part of their undergraduate programme to further enhance life skills such as logistics planning for shifting, live without a proper bed and be thankful for a kind soul who lets you squat and the list goes on.

I really can be a professional mover after this. I even have a dedicated crew of mine equipped with a motorbike and sometimes a small Kancil to help me drag my things from on room to another.

That's life in my place. Be wise, choose to stay out :P

Grumble

Just when you thought that you got everything all settled, there's always something that screws up.

That's life in anti-you :(

I'm still wondering why most of us didn't get the hall of our choice despite meeting the general cut-off points. One thing I observed was that most of the students were mainly final year students. I guess they forgot that they are the ones who are graduating soon and will be contributing back via donations etc etc.I think they really want their undergraduates to always strife to beat the system and hence constantly create various controversial situations.

Time to summon the Ninja God to investigate and fight for justice 

Who's with him? Hands Up!

Loctor Loctor

I just got back from the hospital to see the doctor to get a final inspection on my appendicitis wound. Basically it leaves no scars because the doc performed a single port surgery which is also known as Laparo-endoscopic single site surgery on me. They would operate through the navel and two small holes, one on the right side of the abdomen and the other on the lower abdomen.

And so I shall tell you how rich the doctors are nowadays. Keep in mind that I was waiting for almost 2 hours and finally the nurse called my name.

Doc: How's your wound? Ready to go back to Singapore?


Me: No pain anymore, I guess I'm ok!


Doc: Come come lie down and let me see your wounds. *peels of bandages* Don't worry about your wound opening half way when you're walking just don't do any strenuous activities for the next week.


Me: *grins widely* That's good!


Doc: Okay all the best and I'll see you again! * Hands me the bill and ushers me out*


Me: T.T 

The whole thing took approximately 5 minutes and costed me 45 bucks.

Sprawling on the bed ;(

Moral of the story: If you have no money, pray that you don't fall sick!:(

Appendix explained

A few days ago I was admitted into the hospital for appendicitis but now I'm recovering well at home. Most of my friends attribute my calamity to post-eating activities such as exercises or jumping like a kid. The doctor however, said appendicitis happens over a period of days and most of the time it's unlucky and unforeseen.

For me I choose to think it's because of the saying, "Like father like son"

Thanks dad for encouraging me to exercise after my meals or exercise regularly when I'm bored.

Just pray I don't get white hair like you when I'm 30

Happy Father's Day (;

Extended Holiday, Song Bo!

,Dad: Nik, you very bored in the hospital?

Me: Not really, it's like my days in Tampere. Just eat,sleep and exist :D

Dad: Very true!!

Me: Songg Boo!! , means nice or not in Hokkien.

I asked my father to take a photo before my small surgery to remove my appendix

 Later did i know he also took a shot after it while I was still under GA

It was really depressing to just rest on the bed the whole day and I found this picture quite interesting. It's just basically lines which were painted in such a complicated manner.

I also realized the importance of medical insurance and the support of your loved ones during this period.Trust me, this is something that you won't regret (; Also do make sure that you double check what type of policy you have purchased. Most of us are just to lazy to bother!

One last obstacle for me, i still need clearance from my higher order i.e my mother! XD

Have you registered?

It's been a week at home but somehow this place isn't the same as it used to be. The padang (field) which i used to hang out is now dominated by unfamiliar faces. Patrol guards are literally in every corner in my neighbourhood and food prices are way to expensive for a student like me. Even my little brother is as tall as me :(

Sorry that I went off topic for a while, must be the transition period! Anyways, I was just surfing around the internet and I somehow ended up in the SPR(Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya aka Electoral Commission) website. Yes it takes only a few minutes to register yourself as a voter in any local post office but it will take 5-6 months to get confirmed in the system. Do register early! As for me I registered myself a day after my 21st birthday *ya i'm old already* and only a few months ago my details was in the system.

You can check your status over here.

Change is always overrated when there's no action involved yet every politician says they urge for change. I say, "Be a man, do the right thing!"

Like shave your head when it's overgrown for 6 months

Finding a hotspot!

Internet is very important especially when you are travelling but most of the time in Europe it's not free! It's very disappointing to find out there's internet but when you are greeted with the Visa logo on the login page, that's the end of your joy.I found out a cheat code on how to get free internet and I'm more than willing to share it! Doesn't guarantee that you will get free internet at airports but it's worth a try!

When at the airport, go to the nearest computer/electronic stores.

Chances are that they will have tablets displayed. Of course you will have to talk to the salesman to show a little interest in their products, then only you should check for internet!

 Then off you go, you can easily kill 2-3 hours in the airport instead of hanging out on benches. We did this in London Gatwick and Heathrow. Haha! You can share which other airports that has free wireless internet (:

Chuah's Guest House

For the next few weeks I'll be checking into one of the best hostels in Kuala Lumpur.

At Chuah's Guest House you’ll find a warm welcome 24 hrs/ day. Our staff will help you with all your needs, e.g.: tourist/ night life info, ticket service (shows or city tours), laundry service, bike rental or just a beer at our bar while you plan your next activity. Free W-Lan. Linen is included!

Chuah's Guest House has been operating since 1985 and has been welcoming guest from all over the globe. The guest house is located in a district filled with culture and activities. There's a local park nearby where guest get to catch the beautiful scenery while relaxing on the famous rock in Damansara Utama.

It's location does not really matter because there will always be a car provided for you when you decide to go to the city centre. The best part is, petrol consumption is fully absorbed by the owner but the car is rather old. But hey, beggars can't be choosers!

For your valuables, there's no reason to fret because each guest is allocated a single deluxe with a bathroom attached to it. There's also our home dog, Sparky, guarding the guest house and you can even play with him when you are bored.Chuah's Guest House is a perfect start to discover Kuala Lumpur and enjoy your wonderful summer holidays. 

Home Dog slacking on the job

They also offer a variety of services such: free breakfast,lunch and dinner with the option of dining in with home cooked food or local cuisines nearby. 

Check-In/Out Details

Earliest check-in: anytime
Latest Check-out: anytime

Travel Myths

Someone told me that I was very fortunate to be travelling around and see the world at a very young age. Yes, I don't deny that but I always tell them that sometimes,well most of the time, it's not as fun as it looks (; Let me tell you why,

While in the day you get to see many beautiful sights, by night you have to catch the last bus to the airport to secure a 'comfortable' place. This was one of the thousand positions you will maneuver throughout the night. Trust me, no matter how tired you are, it's almost impossible to sleep in the airport/train.

Sometimes, you will be so exhausted that you may doze off during short bus rides 

The best part would be having good Samaritans to offer you a tiny corner in their apartment for a night. I'm often amazed by their generosity to accommodate me although I barely know them

And at times, you maybe lucky to have some who allows you to snuggle in with them for a night or two.

But nothing beats your bed back home, this I can assure you! (; 

Home bound!!

UK Immigration Border

Today when I was at the UK immigration border, the officer bombarded me with a series of questions,

Officer: So where are you going?

Me: I'll be in Manchester for a day before heading back to cork,ireland

Officer: But you said you were studying in Finland, why did you come from Iceland to fly back from cork to Singapore? O.o Aren't you a Malaysian?

Me: :D *stamps and lets me pass*

She thought i was telling a lie.:(

Officially a tourist

Yesterday was a memorable and historical day because i finally splurged on a tourist t-shirt with my close buddy:)

If only i could upload the t-shirt pic with my crappy smart phone. shouldn't complain and be a typical whiny asian kid.

I think i fell in love with thermal pools!:p

Ash happens:)

It's my first time trying to blog with my 'smart phone'here.finally I am utilizing it to the fullest potential.haha.
Come to think of it I am very lucky to be here typing this post and still surf the net.At first I was really excited when the volcano erupted as I could head down to the city centre to collect some ash but it wasn't really exciting when dark clouds were hovering over my head.Iceland is really a land of unpredictable predicaments and I can truly understand the struggles the locals face everyday. You can see it from a perspective that they are blessed with ample of geothermal energy but at the same time they have to fear of unforeseen circumstance.

I guess it really sets the mood for my personal reflection of my exchange journey.don't worry I'm safe here and worrying doesn't help much:p

Rainbow In Tampere

A few days ago I witness a formation of a rainbow. It wasn't a big one but it was rather strange and special!

 It started off in the middle of no where. The funny thing was there was no rain before that. Maybe it was the cloudy weather, I don't know.

Then it stretched down towards the left side and after 5 minutes it disappeared. It never came back :(

I think Finland is really a special place. You get to experience all the natural phenomenon that occurs, from the long gloomy winter days to the beautiful auroras in the skies. I'm really going to miss this place. In fact I'm currently in Cork but I'm missing Finland.

Yesterday was also the first time I had so many chops on my passport :D I was at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Finnair was heavily promoting their direct flight to Singapore. They even handed out sweet wrappers with the Merlion on them.

After a long journey of transiting and long overhauls, I finally stepped foot in Ireland. From then I knew it was the beginning of my grand finale (: And oh, Chin Leng and Chang Yuan warmly welcomed me with a doughnut party!

Ireland vs Finland. 4-1.

 The white package flew all the way from Pyynikki observation tower to join the doughnut party.

Moi Moi Suomi (Bye bye Finland)

I guess this is the phase where I finally bid goodbye to a place so dear to me. It's going to be hard but life's like that. 

There's a time for everything. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,15

Yesterday I went back to my favourite spot on last time and this was what I did with my friends.

If you know where the spot is, be nice and leave it there for the deserving one. Only the right one has the destiny to hold the hammer of Thor :P

And if you see a shoe hanging on any tree, leave it there too because you will devastate a little boy's dream. You never know what it will really mean to the person (;

Moi Moi Soumi; for every end, breeds a new beginning.

 Ireland, England and Iceland, here I come! 

Happy Belated Mama's Day

Scenario: It was Sunday night in Malaysia around 8pm when I talked on Skype with my parents.Our conversation was held in Hokkien. Translation is in Italic.

Mum :Nik, Lu chiak ba buay? Nik, Have you eaten dinner?

Me: Yea, wa chiak liao. Ani ba. Yea, I've eaten. Very full now

Mum: Oh, so lu zho ha mi? Oh, so what are you doing?

Me: Bo ha mi ming gia la. Nothing much

Mum: Lu cai jin jit si ha mi bo? You know what is today or not?

Me: Jin jit? jin jit si lei bai. Today? Today is Sunday

Mum: Ooo. *silent for a while*

Me: Aiyar, Happy Mother's Day (:

Mum: *big grin on her face*

Haha. Mum's cute and predictable! 

Happy Mother's Day!<3

Now I know where i got my cute dimples from. kekekeeeee

Sunset in Tampere

I found a beautiful spot to catch sunset in Tampere.

Venue : Särkijärvi Lake
Timing : Do check out the sunset timings before heading to the place. It's also advisable to go at least 20 minutes before the actual sunset as it's on a low land area.
Note: It's easy to be found and the experience is worth it (: 

There's a nice rock to sit to view the sunset too!

Enjoy (;

Red Light District and other more

Summer's around the corner and most of my exchange friends are on the roll again to hit different parts of Europe. One common question they asked me was ,"What did you do in the Red Light District in Amsterdam?". I did tell them what I did and even added some places that they should try to visit while they are there.

Firstly, you need to know how does the red light district looks like. No, all the buildings ain't red like those in Melaka or everyone in that district is naked or must be clothed in red. It's basically a normal street in the morning and the 'fun' starts only at night.

This is actually the entrance to the red light district. Once you crossed this, it's an eye opening experience.

In the district, cameras are a big no no. Apparently according to my Dutch friend, he said that if you tried to take a photo of a prostitute, the pimps will come and smash your cameras right away! Ya, so value your camera and don't try to be cheeky. It is to protect the prostitutes image and not treat them like sex slaves/animals. Err I really didn't see any sense in what I was told.

Red light district is a huge area but what I noticed was that there seemed to be more people in the narrower alleys. Maybe because people want to be closer to their targets in closer proximity? There was even a little shop right at the corner of the district where it takes you in a maze to see the displays for the night. I must say they are really creative, dimming all the lights and using only fluorescent light to catch more attention.  

The girls are behind a glass window while we tourist have a free tour. Once they agree on the price, the curtains will be drawn and the action begins. So the next time if you are there and noticed that the curtains are drawn, you know why!

My friend even mentioned that the colours displayed also have a meaning.

Red means real women

Blue means transgenders whom has undergone surgery

Purple means transgenders whom yet to undergo surgery

Yea so be sure to know what you are asking for. Also if the more red it is means it's more skewed to females.  Don't laugh, the price is all the same because in Amsterdam there's no discrimination and everything is equal. O.O. This means that besides the red light district, there's also the blue light district but there's only one street for it because the demand is lower. haha! How to find it? Erm, I can't really recall how I got there but all I remembered was it's across a canal!There's also a fettish corner in the red light district. I shall not elaborate it any further and let you find out yourself xD 

Oh yea, while you are there, try to catch the peek/peep show. I'm not encouraging you to watch it but I myself was impressed how they entice victims/customers. Interested people will enter a cubical covered just with a set of curtains. Once they are ready, they will insert 1 euro and the curtain will be raised. Right in front of them would be a pretty lady dancing and slowing stripping but here's the trick. They must continuously insert coins to keep the curtains raised just like video games. haha! Here's another catch, only 1 person is allowed in the small cubical at a time.

Amsterdam is a really interesting city (; See what good friends I have!

Sunrise in Tampere

Over here in the Nordic Countries, the weather plays with your mind literally. I could clearly recall the dark and snowy days in January where the sun rises at 10.30am and sets by 3pm. Today, it's all topsy-turvy and I challenged myself to catch the sunrise at 5.15am and I'm glad I did (: I did take a video of the sun rising from the horizon and loads of photos but it didn't turn out as nice as I thought it would.

For those staying in Paawola and wondering where to catch it, just face where the petrol stations are!

Can you believe that it's so bright at 5am?

Perfect view

I prayed for world peace

Guess what I did next? I made breakfast, toast with cheese, and caught my mum and legend using facebook during work and went back to virtual reality. Totally worth it (;

Wappu; May Day In Tampere

The long awaited Wappu has arrived finally. It's a day where freshmen students, Fuksi, are finally certified as sophomores, or also known as Tekkari (Technological Students). It is probably one of the rare days that you get to see so many Finns gather together to celebrate a huge event. They obviously celebrate it the Finnish way by drinking,partying and most of all, dipping in the icy cold water!

The dunking process

But before that, a long wait and loads of hard earned points through participation of activities and events

As for myself, I didn't get dunked,

Avanto, requires balls of steel which will eventually become ...

And I kinda figured out that can't be compared to this

Hernekeitto; Finnish Pea Soup

For the past few weeks I find myself in a very strange diet. Not because I lost my appetite but rather I kinda challenged myself, or i think i did, to learn and eat differently. I have been using the oven to cook my meals and some what adding cheese and yogurt to most of my food. haha! I think by the time I reach home my parents won't be able to recognize me. Nah, of course i'm kidding, I'm still the same or at least I hope I look the same xD

Well, I shall not blog about my failed attempt of trying to bake potatoes (:

This is a traditional Finnish meal. It consists of pea soup and a pancake. They are normally served on Thursdays as a preparation for fasting on Fridays in the pre-reformation era.

It's a small portion but it is very filling! The pancakes are normally eaten with cranberry sauce or other jams depending on individual preferences.

The pea soup whereas, is cooked with some meat. It's also common to add some onions, although I'm not a big fan of onions, in the pea soup

It is delicious and I'll try to cook it some day xD Normally in my university, you can notice long queues from the Finns just to get a taste of this delicious meal! Wait till you try the black sausages,Mustamakkara, or the salmiakki ;S

Finnish Black sausages,Mustamakkara. 'YUMMY!'

Wakey wakey!

I noticed my blog has shifted from words and pictures to videos. Maybe I should go buck up on some simple video editing skills.

This video was taken in Bonn,Germany! Thanks to Venja who was super kind to offer her place to us (: I really had a good time over there, learning simple German and tasting the local delights there!

German Bread, full with fibre and it's really delicious just on its own unlike Guardenia!

This was something very new to me. It's milk rice. They cooked the rice with milk giving a sweet taste to it!

Some vegetarian broth we had for lunch. Can't remember the name, I think it was something kutchen

Bonn's a beautiful town, it was the capital before the west and east Germany united (: Danke!

Con Jobs in Italy

No doubt Italy is a beautiful country but I personally feel that the people there aren't as friendly as the other countries I have visited. Maybe because that there is too many tourists around until the locals themselves are fed up to spare some time for us? Oh well, nevertheless I'll share some encounters while I was there.

1)

Con Job: Human Statue

Threat level: Low

Description: They try to earn an extra buck from passers-by who are impressed by their stationary state. Well, occasionally you would be lucky to see them twitch; I mean after all they are human.

Statue of Liberty

Cowboy wannabe

Prevention: You can actually take photos of them without paying anything. Those human statues won't suddenly come alive and bug you for tips. If you are feeling generous, don't hesitate to reward them!

2)

Con Job: Acting Gladiators

Threat Level: Medium

Description: They usually strike their preys in groups. They target innocent looking tourist, asking them if they want a photo with them. Well of course, they won't mention that it comes with a price making you think they want a photo with you.

Not hard to spot them if you watch the movie 300.

Prevention: The easiest way to fend off these people would be rejecting their 'kind offers'. However, if you still want a photo with them, I would encourage you to negotiate a fixed priced with them before flashing your cameras. Also if you want a photo with them, try to take it with a huge group of friends so that they will not come up with exorbitant prices.

3)

Con Job: Flower Boys

Threat Level: High

Description: What would a romantic country be without beautiful flowers? These flower boys also work in groups. They target women specifically, forcing them to take their flowers. I have seen with my own eyes that they shove the flowers into the ladies' hands and afterwards offering to take a photo for them.

Lurking for their next victim

Con job in process

Prevention: Never fall into their trap if they insist on you taking it for free. We all know that nothing comes free (: Just show an uninterested gesture to them and they will hop on the the next lady they see on the street. I don't know how much they will charge if you take a stalk of rose but do let me know if anyone of you know!

4)

Con Job: String Man

Threat Level: Medium

Description: There will be a man going around asking if you wanted to see something. He will be holding a few strings and will later ask you to stretch your arms out. When you do so, he would tie a knot around your wrist and finally cut it off. At the end of it, he would ask for a dollar for the 'little bracelet' around your poor wrist.

I'm sure there are tonnes of con jobs out there. Just remember to becareful and beaware of these things (: I'm sure you won't want your holiday to be ruined by these crooks (: