Hackney, London



Let's start over. Travel's over, and im not about to recap every single moment in details, in a nut shell - flew out of bremen - survived a faulty aircraft - got back to gloomy (and much colder) London - Edinburgh - London - ready to head home

not that im suffering from writer's block, just that sometimes things happen so quickly and when you do find time to write about it, the thrill's gone, vanished into thin air, no more excitement whatsoever...

what im still excited about tho, it's that im gonna become a student again! the blog will then be renamed Marcus' back-to-school journal, and u know what, i should have more time to do more updates then, if the swedish weather is as bitter as advertised.

Receiving the notification few days back that i've been accepted into this world ranked #71 University was delightful, and that's an understatement! and the fact that ive made the selection despite presenting such a bleak CV totally made my day.

I graduated in year 2005 and have since done nothing even remotely productive (when it comes to career advancement). When i made the decision to go backpacking in NZ, i knew i was putting my career on the chopping block. Everyone was busy getting employed and climbing up the corporate ladder while i was soaking up the sun in a serene vineyard in Marlborough.

and after a one-year stint, i came over to europe to embark on my european experience and further reducing my bachelor's to digital papers. Have i once regretted doing what i did? No. This experience is invaluable, if anything, ive learned more than i ever will simply just jump into the ratrace upon graduation.

this is an experience of a lifetime, the surrogate gap-year i never had when i finished high school, and dont i wish for the millionth time that ive had a gapyear, things would be so much different then, i would never have gone for engineering, and instead pursued something my heart desires. Talk about mainstream career choice...

thankfully, i am able to make use of my bachelor's to pursue a Master's! and in this time of global economy crisis, pray tell if there is ever a better time to study such as now!

Im grateful of God's blessing that my dissertation struck a chord with the examiner, and God I AM ready to study again.

the countdown to fall 2009 has officially begun...

Stuttgart, Germany


So where was i? Right, i spent some quality days in offenburg in which time i've played farmer in Dominik's farm, played an enthusiastic soccer fan in three matches, and pretty much just partied hard for the benefit of my host.

time flies when you're having a fab time, and as much as i hate it, i gotta carry on my journey and Dom has gotta go back to the military, i know i'll always be welcomed back here as gran and grandpa love me to bits! he couldnt stop telling me bout the war stories of yesteryear...

Dom gave me a ride to Speyer where his camp is based, and i spent the day visiting Unesco heritage sites of the famous Dom and the surrounding churches and cathedrals, well what's new?

Got in to Heidelberg and that's when the weather took a bad turn on me, rain, snow, hail and whathaveyou started falling on me and despite the city being a popular tourist destination with a backdrop of a charming castle and mountains and valleys and the beautiful river Neckar, i was pretty much inbound for most of the time.

went to a good bday party and some hippie gathering and some wine and dine and that is pretty much it.

arrived in stuttgart yesterday and came here to Esslingen to see Ben. We met in a church in Hasting, NZ and have been friends since, traveled together for a while and were involved in lotsa church activities back then. Reunion is always good fun.

Will head to Fulda tomorrow and see what happens.

Spring09 travel

one interesting fact about Basel Airport, it has three different checkpoints for access to three different countries, namely Switzerland, France and Germany, and i quickly took advantage and checked them off my list one by one.

first stop was obviously Basel, followed by Mulhouse, and Freiburg - the infamous tri-city of tri-countries. En route to the blackforest, which was clearly the highlight of my trip, i spent some time in the town of Colmar.

Now that might remind you of this replica town we have in bukit tinggi back home, and may i commend that the developer did indeed do not such a bad job in the imitation, well at least the facade of it.

entering blackforest from Freiburg, met up with Sebastian and he wasted no time in introducing me the beers of the region, and we had a great nightout with his friends on an all-night bender. Woke up next afternoon and took a hike around the world-renowned blackforest for some fresh air, i really needed it!

and we know the blackforest is responsible for its cake and the cuccoo clock, so i did the obligatory task of savoring them as well.

Moving on, i proceeded deeper into the forest and spent some nights in the village of Waldkirch, Elzach, Haslach and Gengenbach, enjoying german hospitality to the fullest, the people here in the forest are just too nice! and that's an understatement.

Well, it's not just the german hospitality im enjoying, but the asians too! Stayed in the household of two families where the wifes are south-korean and Indonesian respectively. So yeah, fusion food is definitely on the table! and gosh, it's nice to taste real chilli again! and to practise my bahasa too, in the case of the german-indonesian household. Sascha is just too lucky to have an asian wife!

will be meeting dominik here in Offenburg later, it's definitely been a while! last saw him about a year and a half ago, and he's promised a party tomorrow, so we'll see!

maybe i should consider moving to germany eh?



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Pete and I





chinatown


wow, it's definitely been a while since my last post, it's not that nothing much has happened, it's just that im spending more time on facebook and updating my status there that i felt not so incline to do it here all over again.

it was a low-key celebration on my birthday, had a few to drink with my housemates and we talked till the wee hours. Pete came visiting and crashed in my room before flying back to Halifax, Nova Scotia and we had a good night out.

CNY was/is more of a somber affair, there wasn't any reunion dinner or any sorta celebration to begin with (lack of chinese friends is the key), and i truly missed the festivities happening all over town back home. Went to chinatown to get some of that spirit but somehow it's just not the same, it's way too cold to hangout too long in the open air...

and then it snowed. And the worst thing is, London was totally unprepared for it. The city has not seen a blizzard in over two decades and when it happened, it crippled the whole place in a blink of an eye. All transportation came to a halt and we became the laughing stock all over europe and the world. Things like that dont happen in Moscow or NY or Vancouver.

but how joyful everyone became! the snow was much welcomed in the midst of global economy breakdown, people took the day off to go sledging and to build frosty in the park with their kids, and i had my first snowball fight in london!

my spanish trip has been canceled, i am supposed to leave for santiago like TODAY, but the airline let me down and they refunded my money. and guess what, it's actually a blessing in disguise! most airports are grounded because of the icy runways and some poor people are still stranded in heathrow as we speak.

im scheduled to fly to Switzerland next month and i will just cross the border to france and thereon germany and make my way back to london from there.

till you hear from me again...

Phew, time certainly waits for nobody, the festive seasons came and went in a thrice, but not without some fun elements in the process.

the days running up to Christmas see a celebration of two of my roomates' birthday, and on Christmas eve the folks threw a house party at our place and we had a ball of a time. On boxing day we went shopping because of the post-christmas price slashed of everything, and followed by more parties, everyone's on hols so there simply any reasons why not to.

on new year eve, we went on the boat at the Victoria Embankment, at subzero temperature, hand clutching a flute of champagne, and witnessed the firework display at the Eye and also at Canary Wharf.

and dont ask me bout my new year resolution, what is it about people that they only resolves to do something good for themselves once a year? i dont buy into that concept at all...

Looking forward to travel next month and then i guess it's time to go back home. What with the pounds plummeting to parity with the euros, traveling in europe isnt that economical anymore, i think i shall stick back to exploring asia for now...

it's all good.

Battersea, London


So what's new, got in to London to start saving for my next trip, in which it's gonna happen for definite next feb as i've already purchased the airticket. It's a Santiago-bound ticket so i will be visiting northern Spain, Portugal, and plan to do southern france en route to Germany. I guess it's back to traveling in western europe again...

In the midst of credit crunch, i still couldnt resist the urge for some Malaysian food. So the other day we went to this malaysian restaurant for Char Kuew Tiew and Curry and roti canai, among other local favourites and had to fork out £22 each just for hawker food! Talk about daylight robbery.

Moved in to Battersea and sharing the house with Portuguese and Brazillians, all seem pretty friendly and outgoing so im looking forward to spend the holidays with the portuguese-speaking folks, there will be a giant house party this friday and non-alcohol drinkers need not apply.

oh yeah, have i mentioned? Met Simon Cowell the other day and he seemed like a pretty nice guy! His alter-ego when acting as AI judge was non-existent. I wasnt that star-struck as this is London afterall, if you really fancy u can meet a celeb every other day, just check out the newspaper listing for their whereabouts.

A blizzard is forecasted tomorrow so im hoping to hangout in the snow, it's about time dont u think? oh time sure flies...

Krakow - Banska Bystryca - Budapest

Budapest, Hungary

So i hitchhiked to Banska with minimal difficulty, the people are very comfortable with hitchhikers and they have often done it themselves before they own a car, and as i understand later, the goverment encourages such mode of transportation and used to offer rewards to drivers who pick up hitchhikers in those days.

Slovakia is famous for its mountainous landscape with friendly and approachable people. I stayed with Katarina and Peter and they brought me out to savour cheap slovakian beers. As it is, the Slovakians are giving up their currency and will start using euro in two months' time, so im really lucky to visit the country before it gets expensive!

I then headed on to Budapest which is gonna be the highlight of my travel. Ive always wanted to visit the city and i know im gonna have a good time with szabi my ex-roomie bringing me around. We used to have great fun when we were sharing a flat in the hip area of Hackney and then he had to go back to hungary to kickstart his bachelor's degree in Uni (he's my age!). I like that we share the same philosophy in life and that there are so much in common between us.

so even though he's got exams going on, szabi was bringing me all over budapest to the best clubs and bars and the trendiest place in town. We met some of his friends and they are all as cool as I am... :p

I was really depressed on the last night because i was going on a london-bound flight back to the gloomy and stormy land, but u know what, good things dont last, so why not just get on with it and not look back. At the very least memories are there to stay...

im just happy that ive made some valuable friendships that are gonna last for a long long time to come...

and also because ive gotten lucky in budapest... :p

Kaunas - Suwalki - Warsaw - Lodz - Tychy - Krakow

Krakow, Poland


Whoa it's gonna be another long post with minute details. My journey from Kaunas to Suwalki was not without drama, it took me three rides altogether and i was picked up by three police officers on the second (thank goodness it's not illegal to hitch here, i might have been incarcerated!). None of them spoke english so i kinda gestured that im heading to Poland, and that's exactly where they brought me to, the Lithuanian-polish border, and getting a ride from there was as easy as pie, i simply approached a truck driver who was only too glad to have me on board.

Got in to Suwalki and realized i would be gaining two hours that day, winter time is on. Mike and his parents were most hospitable, the table was laden with food that could feed an army! and everyone just sat there watching me eat, something about feeding a starving traveler that people find pleasing to eyes...

the usual drill ensued, mike brought me to the local bar and bought me local beers at the same time proclaiming them as the best in town. We also had a go at his Ukrainian wine collection, and damn, good wine dont necessarily have to come with a price.

the next day after a heavy breakfast, Mike's dad brought me to the best hitching spot just slightly out of town, and insisted that he waited with me while i hitched, and when i got one in about five minutes, he interviewed the driver and declared his approval. These two estonian dudes that gave me a ride were awesome, they were Munich-bound but they took me to warsaw anyway. Along the way non-stop offering me food and beer, do i really look like i need a good feedup? I had some really good texan beef jerky and estonian beers, just to be polite!

Warsaw being the polish capital immediately means loads of people and traffic, and having lived in London with a population of more than 10 million and counting i wasnt overwhelmed. I quickly befriended a polish tram ticket-inspector who was quite eager to get me to my destination and to let everyone around him knows that he speaks that word or two of english, the dude was practically talking to me in polish the entire time! So i got on the tram without a ticket and soon arrived at Filip and Martha's place.

we spent a good weekend together going sightseeing and meeting friends amd having vegetarian meals. The good thing about traveling in poland is, you never seemed to need tickets for public transports, and as martha pointed out, just pretend to be a stupid tourist when asked to produce a ticket by the conductor, it's not like they speak english anyway! well thankfully i never have to practise that, yet.

i then headed on to Lodz to visit Marek and Rafal, of whom i spent Easter with earlier this year. Since running into them in Venice in february, ive been seeing them like every few months or so, in london and in poland, that has gotta tell you how small europe actually is. We had a good party celebrating Marek's bday in which i dont recall much of the second half of the party, i kinda passed out after like a gazillion shots of vodka. well it happens.

It was good times but i have a schedule to follow, so i left Lodz for Tychy after three nights for an intense history lesson. and Jozef did a brilliant job educating me at the German concentration camps- Auschwitz. I remembered seeing the exact same place on Oprah's once and the memory is still vivid, it felt surreal walking down that same path as ive seen a sobbing Oprah did. It was an oppressive place, i will tell you that right now, and definitely not for someone not emotionally prepared.

The Nazis killed some one million jews and tortured thousands there. I stood at the exact same barracks where the people were kept prison and looked at the same wall where they were murdered. Let's not forget the gas chamber. And all this happened on Halloween's day. Eerie...

over the weekend the poles were commemorating the deads and visiting graves of loved ones, one would mistaken it as lantern festival when the entire cemetery lit up at night from the candles. Totally enchanting.

We made pizza again yesterday, i think im really getting good at this! Krakow's brilliant and prettier than Warsaw, well the latter was wiped out completely during WWII so i dont think it's fair to make a comparison, but the constant rivalry between the two cities are obvious and intense.

Will be going to Slovakia next...



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Tartu - Riga - Vilnius - Kaunas

Kaunas, Lithuania



Hitchhiking out of Tartu was a complicated affair, few cars drove such a long distance to Riga and there was little reason for border-crossing on a week day. It took me a total of three rides to Riga but fortunately i didnt have to wait long for 'em, the first ride set me back for 20 minutes waiting time and a nurse picked me up, she was visiting her mom in Elva which is only 20km away. Second ride was a farmer who got me another 10km and the third ride was immediate, i havent even set my backpack down when this lovely latvian couple stopped for me.

there was little english spoken between the two of them but we got along just fine, we stopped half way at a local coffee shop and they bought me coffee and tit-bits, talk about some fine latvian hospitality.

Got in to Riga just after dark and i let Edgars cooked me some vegetarian meal. The five of them in the house are all vegans which pretty much means say good bye to fats. But damn, the dude can sure cook a fine meal even without animals involved. I kinda like Riga and her old town, though the city is twice the size of Tallinn and have more stuffs going on, which i dont particularly care for. I was there for the people and not the place, and i cant stress that enough, european cities do look alike after a while!

we celebrated Elina's name day (it's something they do here in this part of the world) and made three large Pizzas, from scratch. It was really fun cooking with the folks as it reminded me when i used to make pizzas with mom, but i bet you havent tasted brocolli pizza before, it's brilliant! We had some to drink and toasted and made merry and it's all good fun, good food and good company.

I then moved on to Vilnius, by hitchhiking, of course. Got a ride in 10 minutes and such a joy ride it was. Picked up by two latvian Illustrators who didnt take much time to convince me to have a go at their merlot. So two stopovers, two bottles of wine (the driver didnt drink) and two joints later, we arrived in the capital of Lithuania pretty happily, if i may add.

met up with Griedrius and Viktorija and we went back home for some more boozing session. Tried this Lithuanian herb liquor that tasted just like medicine but with good effects, though i cant say the same when i got up the next morning with a major hangover. I let Vik made me a good cup of tea which she claimed it's her special remedy, and it worked miraculously. Oh yeah, did i meantion? i slept in a massive WATERBED in my own room! cant tell you how much i wanna invest on one when i can.

Vilnius is a pretty little thing, set to be the european capital of culture next year, the city is driving in full throttle waiting to impress. At night, we cooked pasta and washed down with wine and beer and checked out a local bar. Justin joined in later when he got back from Tallinn and we had a go at his Shishah and Whiskey collection. Fantastic end for the night.

Good times are often shortlived, hitchhiked to kaunas today which wasnt all that challenging, it was a well used route and it's only 100km apart. Arturas's mom cooked me this awesome Lithuanian meal which consists for the most part potatoes and fats and eat with soured cream. She was quick to suggest that it's a fattening meal but i loved it! and for the record, there are no fat people here in the baltic states, at all.

just came back from the cinema and we watched Max Payne for free (connections, connections...), it was a mediocre film without much of a storyline and i got rather restless after a while, you can only take in that much shooting at one time, you know.

the journey continues...




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Brocolli, tomato + onion
mushroom, olives, tomato + aubergine
Mushroom, gherkin, onion, garlic, olives + tomato

Helsinki - Tallinn - Tartu

Tartu, Estonia


Helsinki is somewhat a more toned-down version of the Nordic countries, sure she's developed and all that but lack the exuberance and warmth that are greatly enjoyed by its southern counterpart, think Madrid, Rome or Amsterdam.

people go about minding their own business and wont stop to mingle on the street if they can help it, it's way too cold to say 'how do you do' i'd imagine. And since i desperately wanted to leave the euro-spending country pronto and head on to the baltics state, i didnt even check out the night scenes in Helsinki.

instead i let Arto cooked me a three-course gourmet in his house. The european men have since ceased to amaze me with their cooking ability. It seems they can just whip up some food out of thin air like Jamie Oliver effortlessly, it is also because eating out simply costs too much! Leave no tips at the table and the waiter will offer a 'dont come back again' politely.

I took a three-hour ferry ride to Tallinn next and fell in love with the estonian capital immediately. What's not to love of a country with 1.4 million citizens? No longer will you walk on the sidewalks and risk holding up a hundred people behind you because you're a slowass, or queue for ages to get in to a good bar and for once Service is noted!

Responsible for Skype and Kazaa, the ppl here are technology savvy indeed! fellow estonians were boasting to me of their e-tax, e-education, paperless hospital, and simply everything being digitalized, i havent the heart to tell them the malaysians are such too, albeit not always up to standard and poorly maintained.

So we went to this Italian restaurant where food is served a la 'Marche' whereby a smart card is given and our orders being stored in it, and no, we dont have to wait for our food to be called out, as Davide excitedly pointed out to me, we were given a vibrator which goes off when our food is ready, how 'smart' eh? i think i still prefer placing order a la 'SAKAE' and table service, tyvm.

but Tallinn really is a charming baltics city with her old town very much preserved and church spires dominated the skyline. We went to the local bar at night and hangout with a bunch of italians on the italy vs montenegro match. Italy of course won the match effortlessly so it wasnt that thrilling. As Mirje's sister is coming to KL for a job placement, i was busy answering her neverending questions, is healthcare up to par, how's the nightlife in KL, is it safe walking down the street? i can only assure her that KL is very much the metropolis everyone thinks it is, minus the cold wind and the charming old town.

So i attempted to hitchhike out of Tallinn to Tartu. and as luck will have it, with God's blessing, a car stopped for me just under two minutes after thumb's out. Mario is a tattoo artist who was eager to show me his designs upon me finished telling him my story. and he wanted to come to malaysia after i told him our Iban tribes have tats all over their body and they use traditonal techniques. What a way to promote good ol´malaysia eh?

we went back to his house en route to Tartu and his mother wanted to give me a gift! i was asked to choose anything i like from her shop which sells bric-a-bracs and collectibles but kindly turned her down. i cant ask for free rides and free gifts at the same time! apparently any non-estonian speaking people are well-liked here.

Got in to Tartu without any incidents and i hooked up with Tonu, geologist and curator for Museum of Geology, so it's not a surprise when i tagged along today on a cross country excursion over estonian coastline collecting rock samples. It was kinda fun though i can tell you right now im no rocks expert.

Will go to Latvia tomorrow.



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Ferry ride and boozing in Turku...