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