By the way... Zurich

Zurich was really by the way; I had a six hour transit at Zurich airport on my way back to Singapore from Nice airport. 

I did not plan for Zurich, and I know nothing much about Zurich except for the financial institutions that originated from there, Zurich Life, Pictet Funds etc from my previous work. And of course, not forgetting the chocolate, Lindt :>

My travelling colleague, flew to Zurich often in her previous job, told me to get out of the airport and go to Zurich central and Zurich Lake for a walk. She said there was plenty of time, and I should make full use of the transit instead of waiting around in the airport. 

She was right, there was really plenty of time, and Zurich central was really near, slightly over 10 minutes by train. 

I changed my remaining 100 euros into Swiss Francs, there was no research except for the drop off train station and street name which the colleague helped google. 

Feeling excited about an unplanned trip.

I reached Zurich airport at about 4pm+. I somehow had the impression that Swiss speak French, and I was only half right. They speak German too, and seems to be more German than French. Most of them speak English too, some better than the other. 

Once I reached the arrival hall, I found the tourist desk with plenty of guides with good map, recommendations and an efficient officer who spoke good English. 

From the arrival hall, I needed to walk to the other side of the airport, which is actually the departure hall, to get to the train station, which is still within the airport. 

Zurich airport is very relatively easy to navigate, there are plenty of signage. The plan was simple - get a train ticket to Zürich HB Main Railway Station where Zurich city centre is, get out of the station, walk around the lake and the streets, get back to the station for the train to the airport. 

The ride was supposed to be 10 to 15 min one way. 

My first challenge - I found the train ticket vending machine but I had no idea how to get the ticket. I tried for a good 10 min, and, lucky me, a kind airport staff, Dave, asked if I needed help. He was the superman of the day - he not only got me a return ticket (that cost about 15CHF), the ticket also allowed free rides on all trams, a lot of museums and even a free boat ride in the Zurich Lake. He took time to mark out the route around Zurich Lake and the best route to walk, and even gave me his number to call in the event if I was lost. 

Dave had been to Singapore many years ago and liked Singapore very much. He felt Switzerland and Singapore has a lot in common. He particularly loved the fact that chewing gum is banned in Singapore, he hated the unsightly gum stain that were everywhere in Zurich. 

His last piece of advice was Zurich has fountains that provides fresh potable water, straight from the lake, and I need to make sure I try that. 

Thereafter, Dave pointed out the correct train track, and I was in Zurich city centre swiftly. I found another tourist office in the train station, I made a few more queries and things were easy from there. 

By the time I reached the station, it was about 530pm, and I would leave for the airport latest by 7pm. I did not want any mishap and miss my flight. 

I walked out from the station and crossed over to the other side. The weather was beautiful and it was cooling. A tad too sunny though, but I was not complaining. 

After I crossed the road, I came into a stretch of shops and eatery. If I was not wrong, this should be the old town area. Plenty of unique brands, no flashy brands. I liked the colour of the buildings. The pavements were clean, and there was no discomfort or fear walking on my own. 

I came across the first fountain with potable water. I was kind of hesitant to take a drink from there. I was not sure if I should scope the water in the fountain or from the sprout. 

The water in the well had some litter, so I just waited around for someone to take water from the fountain but no luck. Come to think about it, I was pretty silly - if the water was not clean in the fountain pool, then isn't it obvious, I should take the water from the sprout?

Duh...

After a while, I decided to walk along the road 'cos the trees that lined the road were huge and beautiful. On the other side of the trees is Zurich Lake. 

As I walked, I crossed over to the other side of the road, Banhofstrasse. It was not easy to get lost because a lot of the places were in plain sight - you see everything. At the worst, I know I could use the river to guide me back to the train station. 

Banhofstrasse has a lot of branded stuff, and most were closed at that time. I particularly like a cafe right in the square. I did not stop for a drink there; I was walking throughout. Non stop.

Right where this cafe was, you can see a beautiful stretch of the river and some mountain view with snow-capped mountains! My picture right at this spot is too pixelated to share, I would share those that I took from Lindenhof, a slightly elevated point in the city, later in this post. 

I was in for a treat when I walked up this tiring slope. I wanted to see what was at the top of slope. And it was Lindenhof. Its elevated position allows a very good view of the city centre, the lake and the snow capped mountain. 

While I think the view from the square was nicer, I was totally happy to get this shoot. 

The view was far more magnificent than the photos. There was a constant gentle breeze, and it was so relaxing to sit there and enjoy the wind and view.

There is a potable water fountain in Lindenhof too. Here I got a lot of demonstration of how I should take the water. Actually it was simple, just fill up your bottle straight from the sprout. I was thinking too hard. 

Once I saw this bird drinking for a full minute at the sprout, I just had to try the water. 

The water was icy cold, and it was so sweet! I was there for about a full minute too, drinking from my cupping hand, haha!

I wanted to take the boat ride out to the lake, but I could not locate the ferry station. Dave said the ride would take about 90 minutes, and it was already 630pm at that time. Hence I decided to skip the boat ride with much regret and started to make my way back to the airport. Home was definitely the priority. 

Zurich airport is pretty compact; I found a supermarket! I bought a pair of socks for flight use, and a bag of cherries, and I checked in. I walked around the duty free area for about an hour before I threw in my towel. I was simply too tired to walk anymore. I took a seat next to the glass panels that overlooked the areobridge and sat there. Watching the planes landing and taking off for about an hour. 

When it was finally time, I washed my face, brushed my teeth and got my neck pillow out. My legs and feet were really tired, and I was really looking forward to a good sleep on plane :>

PS: If you intend to visit Zurich centre during a long transit, having 50CHF would be more than enough because water is free and easy to get. The water from the potable water is definitely something everyone MUST try. I spent about 20CHF only - for my socks, a bottle of water at the airport and the bag of cherries. 

PPS: All photos were taken with iPhone4. 

Hong Kong...and the Take Away Lesson!

I made another trip to Hong Kong recently. 

Somehow this trip feel better. Services were a lot better though they were still loud at most places. The colleague whom I travelled with brought me to Soho. I been there once many years ago and we had a dinner there. The food was alright, but the ambience was really good. 

The long long escalator (on the right)

Checky photo-bomber!

I found out on this trip that eating at restaurants and going to cafes like Starbucks make a lot more sense in Hong Kong than going to their Cha Chan Ting (eateries). The prices seem to be lower by about 20% to 30%? 

We went to Tim Ho Wan en route to the airport. We ordered six dim sums, including a huge chicken glutinous rice, which was fabulous by the way! I think the bill was less than SGD30. I have no idea if this was cheap as compared to the Tim Ho Wan in Singapore though. But do not linger around after you finish, they need the table back quickly... 

The purpose of this trip was to check out the gift and premium trade show. Both for work and for myself. I love craft and lifestyle items, and there was a craft that I saw in a recent trip which I really like. I found out the vendor would be at the fair hence I wanted to be at the fair. And there were things that I needed to source for work so off I went!

The fair took place at Hong Kong convention and exhibition center (HKCEC), and we stayed at Cosmopolitan Hotel. I stayed at the same hotel last month when I was in Hong Kong for work. I like this hotel because there is a FOC shuttle that would send guest to HKCEC and back to the hotel. We could walk to the convention center, but who would give up a bus ride? We took the same shuttle to IFC where we took the express train to the airport. The hotel is about 10 minutes walk to Causeway Bay shopping district which is great. Plenty of food along the way. We got a free upgrade 'cos Cosmopolitan Hotel had the record that we were there last month! Yea! 

View outside our room; The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Traffic at about 12pm on a Sunday, view from our room

Empty road at 1030pm on Monday night

I have never been to a gift and premium fair before. The fair occupied five floors of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Cente. We had to be very selective in terms of what we were looking for, since the fair was really huge. It is not possible to stop at every booth, but then again that would not be necessary since some of the gifts'  quality was really bad and some was totally unrelated. Guess what was one of the most common items in the trade show?! Umbrellas! Haha! There are hundreds and hundreds of booths, selling all sort of things. From wrapping papers, toys, electronic products to furniture, lifestyle products such as exquisite tea pot set, and beautiful musical boxes. 

We were in Hong Kong for two nights. On the second night, I roamed the streets when my colleague went to meet her Hong Kong friends. As I walked back to Cosmopolitan Hotel from Causeway Bay, I found a wet market accidentally. Nothing was housed under one roof; the stalls were lined along the sides of the road. Lots of shouting went on at the same time. Do it fast, no slowing down. I bought a punnet of strawberries, without a word. Took my berries, paid and went off. 

There were quiet places that I like; unlike the last trip, there was not a single place that I felt was peaceful. I love the first photo below; the entire atmosphere was so "In the Mood for Love". At least the photos look rather peaceful, haha!

Though the experience was much better this time, still two days later, I was pretty happy to head home. Hence airport is still my favourite place in Hong Kong!

Pleasant surprise on the plane!

The biggest take away from this trip was from the fair - no matter which part of the world you are from, how successful you are, how small you are, innovation is always the king. Creativity always attract, always win. In such a big fair, it is not easy to be noticed, unless your product really stands out. The same would perhaps apply in our work, the grey cells need to start working in the right direction, and out of the box!

The Land of the Loudness

I was in Hong Kong about a month ago for work. I been to Hong Kong twice; once for work and the other time was with a close girl friend (I watched "In Time" recently, and now has this thing about writing "girlfriend"). It had been a long time since I visit Hong Kong; eight, nine years? There is a reason for the long hiatus. 

The first trip was for work, when I was in my early twenties. I was young, and I hated it when people talk louder than necessary. I still do. And my! The Hong Kong people were really loud then! That was before the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty from UK back to China, or that was just about to happen. People in Hong Kong was still using Cantonese as the main language, mandarin was virtually unheard in any corner. I went during the summer, and by the second day, I lost my voice completely due to the hot weather. Trying to self medicate, I went to Watson, or a shop that seemed like Watson for some cough syrup. When I tried to pay, I was scolded by the cashier because I could not reply and, to make matter worse, I could not understand Cantonese. That was really bad. The only saving grace of the trip was the colleagues in Hong Kong were real nice people. I was so glad to be back in Singapore! 

The second trip was much better but still the loudness of the people was not something that I would want to endure on a holiday. I always like the softies, haha!

So I was kind of curious for this trip since it had been some time since the 1997 handover. I was interested to find out how Hong Kong had evolved since then. I heard plenty about Hong Kong during my finance work; Singapore and Hong Kong have always vie for the number one financial hub in Asia. 

Work was around the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre, and it was a really short trip, just two nights. Besides the convention centre, the hotel, and Causeway Bay (our hotel was about 10, 15 minutes walk to Causeway Bay), we did not really venture that far. 

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

I have to say the people are a lot more versatile in languages; I heard a lot more Chinese and English being used. People seems to be a tad more patient; I really wish I could say a lot more. A startling experience at a cafe where we had our dinner on the last night. After we were seated, we spent a couple of minutes looking at menu, the waitress came over to take order. We asked for a couple more minutes, she walked off without saying anything, and came back in about 20 seconds to take the order! I was totally amazed! Talk about efficiency!

Stuff are expensive; be it food, clothes, and even titbits. Dinner for three pax at a normal cafe (Cha Chan Ting) was about SGD40+. We are talking about fried rice and noodles. Instead, restaurant seemed to be cheaper. Taxi seemed to be cheaper than Singapore too. There were simply too many people everywhere, anytime of the day. 

Hong Kong International Airport - Terminal 2

There is one place that I like - the airport. Lots of space, you can't feel the crowd. But once I cleared the immigration and came into the duty free shopping area, I was totally swamped again. There was even a rude Caucasian who used hand signs to tell me to move aside so that he could cross past me! 

Well, I am still not likely to pick Hong Kong as a vacation spot. There are simply too many people around to have a good time. I am hoping my next visit can change my view!

Berlin

I was in Berlin in early Feb for work. So yes, this is a late and lazy post :D

The flight was about 18 hours by KLM, with a transit in Paris. Upon arrival at Tegal airport, I had slept on and off for almost eight, nine hours. I continued to be in a daze when I took the transit flight. The big secret, and except for my travelling partner, no one knew, until now, I MISPLACED my passport on the transit flight! This is a bad place to share this because hubby would be breathing down my neck forever once he sees this; saying how right he always is about my clumsiness. And yes, I would admit it - somehow I am always get more clumsy when he is around. Probably it is because I know he would be looking out for me :) It was a dramatic experience. While English is commonly used in Germany, it was not easy to get the message across when you are worried beyond the ability to cry. In the end, being extremely blessed and lucky, after two hours of wait, I had my passport back in my hand. Advice to myself - put the passport STRAIGHT back into the bag after use. 

Moving on, we booked an apartment via Roomorama, and it was about 15 minutes from work. Berlin is neat and efficient, kind of reminded me a bit of Singapore, but that was where all resemblance ended. The building is mostly bricks and metals, a bit like Amsterdam, but the colour scheme is kept cold. I think the bricks takes out the hassle of repainting; pretty good planing. 

Work was around the Potsdamer Platz area; we walked quite a bit. It was pretty enjoyable as long as there was no rain and strong wind. Food and necessities in the area was cheap, just like Amsterdam. Shampoo that cost almost SGD18 was only slightly over 5 euros! Vitamin C effervescent was ridiculously cheap at less than 1 euro! Vegetable and fruits were reasonable, not as cheap as Amsterdam but they were not expensive. 

Cherry tomatoes that looked so bright and red that they almost looked fake!

This photo did not do justice to the fabulous dessert sight! 

Clothes weren't cheap. Dollar to dollar, pretty close to Singapore's price, but once converted back to SGD, they were simply too expensive to consider. 

I think Berlin would be a beautiful place in autumn with the orangey falling leaves. There are some many trees around, even with their bare branches, I could still felt their presence. 

I was kind of worry about the weather, especially when I saw -4 degree Celsius. It really got my attention and I started to stock up for proper winter wear. The coldest that I had ever experience was perhaps about 5 degree Celsius, and I was totally not dressed for that. I was definitely not keen to be in Berlin with a frozen brain; especially for a work trip. With the proper clothing and shoes, the cold was lot better managed. 

Check out their style of night market for food. The food was not exactly cheap at this stretch; if I do not remember wrongly. Instead the food outlets in the mall basement served some cheap and good food. The best food that I ever ate was a pork burger. The look is pretty unappetising; it was slab of fatty pork, dripping with oil in a hotdog type bun. But once I sunk my teeth into it, I went back the second day for another one. One thing to mention - once I had one of these burgers, I did not need to eat anything else for the rest of the day, and I had these burgers for lunch on both occasions. This pork burger was less than 5 euros; extremely good value. 

Below were work photos. The couple of days when we were in Berlin, we were at the convention everyday. Looking back at the film markets that I had (so bless-fully attended), this had to be the nicest in terms of building. 

Waking up in Berlin was not difficult, surprisingly with the cold weather. The view outside the kitchen window offered a glimpse to the sun rise. 

Besides work, we did not manage to check out any other part of Berlin; much regretted. There was simply not enough time; we were rushing for meetings even on our last day. I did not even remember to check out the german pyramid that I like so much...

I like Berlin for its efficiency, and cleanliness. The apartment owner booked a cab to bring us to the airport on the last day. As we made our way down, our few-doors-away neighbour came towards us to let us know our cab was here! Of course, he was right, that was our cab! How the heck did he know it was for us??? I am a pure Singapore breed, places that are clean, neat, efficient appeals to me. Of course, that does not mean I dislike places that do not fall into these categories; I just feel somehow more comfortable that feels like Singapore in one way or the other.