The Visit to Germany

I just got back from Germany today. Pretty tiring trip as most of the time I was traveling on both land and air. Can't really sleep on plane though. And with the time difference, it was as though I'm surviving up to 5am every morning (in Malaysia time, time in Germany is 10pm) and I always woke up early. My boss told me that I must controlled my body, don't let my mind pulled me back. It was not that easy anyway, this so called jet lag. Although the traveling on the plane sucks, but the scenery that I saw was worth the trip.

The Departure Day
Pretty nervous as I haven't been traveling overseas for quite some time and the thought of leaving my boys at home really kills me. Believe it or not, I actually took up some house chores to shift my mind away from the fact that I had to leave that night without ever bothering whether I will tired myself out later. So, I was pretty exhausted when I got on to the plane. Anyway, both daddy and Lunz accompanied me until I left. I had this kind of mixed feelings always when I had to travel. This time the feeling was much much heavier. Daddy told me he felt the same way as well although this was not the first time I traveled but we felt so different. Maybe we are used to living under the same roof now that we felt upset when the other party is not around.

The anxiety was killing me while I waited for the taxi to arrive. I was practically looking out at the door every few seconds. I had been brain-washing the little one 2 days ago that I'll be leaving for work. I even showed him my suitcases and told him that mummy will be outstation working. He understands of course and it really hurts me when he hugged me immediately on the spot and told me, no....mimi come back. I just had to tell him that mimi will come back after working okay...

While waiting for the cab, we played words and sentences guessing game with the little one. Once the cab arrived, I told him, I had to leave and kiss him goodbye on his cheek. He never looked at me. He was pretty good at hiding his feelings. Once I had left, he asked daddy where was I as if trying to be certain that I had really left. Daddy told him, of course. According to daddy, the little one was very quiet after I left, unlike earlier when we were playing games, he was all laughing and happy. Later, he took his blanket from the sofa while daddy was in the loo and climbed up to bed himself. Looks like he can sense my absence.

6 September - Day 1
Traveling for 12 hours on plane was not easy, not to mention an addition of 10 hours transit in Amsterdam before I can catch my flight to Cologne. It was crazy. I was deeply exhausted. We took the train to Amsterdam Central and walked and walked and walked while waiting for our next transit plane at 5pm. The train was very convenient as it takes you straight from the airport to the center of the town. I remembered the previous time when I took the shuttle, we had much more to walk before we reached town.

Nothing much in Amsterdam as I was here before. But this time, with the help of my boss, we managed to trace the RED LIGHT DISTRICT. Saw a couple of women with just their underwear on displaying themselves at the window but, they weren't the pretty ones. Boss told me, it was still early, the pretty ones only comes out at night. Bought myself some souvenirs and headed back to airport later to catch our flight.

Back at KL, daddy told me, Lunz has not accepted the fact that I had already left. He asked for me when he woke up in the next morning. He asked for me again when he saw my car and thought that I had came home from work. He told daddy that it was mimi when he heard the aunty from the house behind us shouted out loud. Poor boy. My heart ached badly. That's the thing when you had commitment and you had to travel for work. Glad that mum, daddy and family are there to support and assured me that Lunz will be well taken care of.

The Red Light District. Nothing much to see as we were early.

We arrived Cologne and managed to check into our rooms at 7pm. Since it was Sunday, every shops in the town were closed. Very good hotel as the shopping streets were just behind the hotel. Walking distance. I was so tired that I didn't joined dinner. Took my bath and went straight to bed.

7 September - Day 2

We visited Kolnmesse, the fairground. We walked all the way there as they wanted to enjoy the scenery.

My hotel. Walking distance to shops, the cathedral, restaurants and pubs.

I managed to take photos of the DOM while we walked. A signature cathedral landmark in Cologne. The DOM is almighty huge! And the building changes colors from fading gray to shiny golden with different angles of sunlight upon it. A very beautiful cathedral!


Lots and lots of padlocks. All locked up on the fence along the bridge. For each padlock, the couple names were craved on it. A tradition for marriage. Locked up the padlock on the fence on the wedding day and threw the keys into the river. Symbolizing an eternal love all locked up. Interesting huh?


Beautiful view on the bridge.

Dinner. Tasted the delicious pig knuckle, famous German sausage and last but not least, the beer. Couldn't find any beer like that in KL.

8 September - Day 3

We went for a factory visit, DIY store and showroom and finally reached our hotel in Fulda in the evening at 6pm. Fulda town was amazingly beautiful. Too bad we reached there late and we had to leave very early the following morning. But, I still managed to take some photos in the town after my breakfast.

Lovely Fulda, Germany.


Very beautiful town.

9 September - Day 4
We headed off for factory visit in the morning and got to Nuremberg in the evening. I didn't take any photos in Nuremberg because it was nothing special. Very much developed and the city was far away from the hotel. The scene was just so-so. I had been traveling a lot these few days and was very tired. I didn't joined dinner thou. Had a good bath and nice sleep.

Back in KL, daddy messaged me and told me that he bought himself and the little one ice-cream.
Lun: One for Sebastian, one for daddy (referring to ice-creams)
Daddy: Mimi leh?
Lun: Mimi outstation working. (seems like he has accepted the fact I really went overseas working)

Daddy had been looking after him most of the nights. He told me the little one was very obedient. Followed every instructions. Funny, he didn't behave like that when I am around. Kids, they tend to bully their mothers. I'm just glad to have daddy around to accompany Lunz.

10 September - Day 5
Again, final destination of factory visit in Leutershausen. The owner of the company was very generous into buying us lunch. We went for lunch in a small but beautiful town. Such small town but yet lovely.

Lunch with the group.

Small but yet beautiful town.

Lovely house with beautiful flowers.

We went through 5 hours on the road later to reach Cologne. It was 7pm when we finally checked into the same hotel that we stayed earlier. All the time wasted on the road was crazy. It was as if I traveled the whole peninsular Malaysia by car. My neck was aching madly.

I dropped all my luggage once I was in the room and did my last minute shopping because the stores will be closed by 8pm sharp. Managed to buy some sausages and chocolates. We had our dinner in some Shanghai Restaurant and headed back to the hotel because we had an early flight to catch the next morning.

11 September - Day 6
Here I am, stuck in the plane again for 12 hours. I hate the flights. Makes me lacked of sleep because I'm a person who can hardly fall asleep easily especially in a plane. But the scenery were amazing minus the tiring traveling. Landed on 12 September morning. Bought 2 packs for ciggy for dad and daddy. Funny...dad and daddy. Hehehe....

I was drop dead exhausted but was very glad to be back home again. I slept like a dead pig when I reached home. I slept the whole afternoon. Later, I went out for dinner with daddy. Good to taste Malaysian food. Gosh! I miss the food here.

I had to quarantine myself from the little one at the mean time (just travel abroad, fear of getting the H1N1 flu). Although I misses him badly but I must be patience. Better be careful than take the risk since the fella is in high risk group.

I have a lot of personal quality time of my own but both daddy and I are constantly missing the little fella. Today is Sunday. I woke up at 12 noon, had lunch (or breakfast?), did some house chores, yoga, put on mask and now finishing my blog.

Gosh....I miss him badly. Hope to see him soon and have him in my arms.

The Land Down Under - New Zealand

I was away from the blog sphere for quite some time. And when that happens, it means that I'm really occupied with my job because the only chance that I get to blog is during working hours. Year end is really a busy busy time for me with upcoming projects and stuffs. Apart from working hard, I do get some consolations ----> TRAVELING!!

The first destination, i.e., Hadyai, Thailand was mainly a escapade trip with daddy. But overall, we found out that the trip was not as much fun as we thought that it would be. The food and stuffs were pretty expensive and were not what the others described as CHEAP! And we were stuck in the city because there were no other places to visit. Those tourist attractions were practically too far away from the city area which involved hours of traveling. So, we were caught in the city and the only entertainments that we had were the 'Aqua" Cabaret Show and of course, not to miss, The Tiger Show. Everyone used to say that Hadyai is a worth going place because you get to buy a lot of cheap cheap stuffs like crazy but BEG ME PARDON, that is not the truth. 10 years back and it's a YES but definitely not now a days. Prices has gone soaring high. Conclusion, not a really recommended place to go. But of course, on the good side was we get to relax and spend some quality time together without kid.

The second destination was work related because I was sent there with a colleague to attend a conference. Of course, the place was much much more interesting and I can't denied the fact that if it wasn't for my company, I will not be able to go to such beautiful places. I knew that I will never had such opportunity without forking as much as 6-7K just for the flight ticket. And of course, at such age and at the salary I'm earning, I can only dream of going. New Zealand is one of the country in my list that I wish to go and when the opportunity arised, I knew that finally I had the chance.

When people said that New Zealand is a very beautiful country, no doubt that that is the simple truth. From Auckland, we transited to Rotorua, one of the famous tourist attraction state in New Zealand. Coincidently, our conference was held in Rotorua, so we took the opportunity to visit some of the famous places in Rotorua. We took a day tour around Rotorua which involved 5 famous tourist attraction places. The package includes admission fees, lunch and pickup point from our hotel. Below are some pictures taken and they are breathtakingly beautiful especially if you are seeing it with your own eyes.

The Land of Green, a shot taken from plane.

Me in the city area of Rotorua. All shops closes around 5-6 pm.

Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activities.
Above shot is the famous bubbling hot Mud Pool.

First destination of our tour. The Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Just look at how beautiful the scenery behind me.

This is called the Artiste Palate. A combination of different colours in the pool.

It's Sulfur. The yellow thingy.

The famous Champagne Pool.

Me next to the Champagne Pool.

Second destination. The Waimangu Volcanic Valley.

Breathtakingly beautiful!

Nothing can beat the beauty of The Inferno Crater.

Third destination of our tour. The Rainbow Springs. This is where you get to see the endangered species. The trademark of the homeland. KIWIBIRD!

Next destination was The Agrodome.
We were there for the sheep shearing show.

Last but not least, Te Puia. This is where you get to see the famous geyser.
The Pohutu Geyser that erupted 2-3 times in an hour.

Some scenery along the way in the bus during our post symposium field trip.

The famous Mt. Manganui. We had our lunch here.

A stroll along the beach after lunch.

Beautiful combination of mountain and beach.

The Port of Tauranga

This is a scene that captured my heart.

A shot taken during our departure flight.

Many of my friends actually confessed that they envied my job because I do get to travel to many places which is very true. In just a year I had visited places that I can only dream of going previously, i.e., Amsterdam, Belgium...New Zealand....but is it the truth that when they say that the grass on the other side is always greener? I mean yes, I do get to travel to many places but I do have my worries as well on the other side. God knows how much I missed my boys during the time I was away from homeland. Given a status of being single, perhaps I will have no issue about traveling. Or what about the peanut salary I'm earning? Will you rather have a high salary that you need not worry about your expenses or a peanut salary but you get to travel around the world on company expenses? A friend of mine said she did rather have my role. Maybe different people on different commitment will have different views. Judge for yourself. But for me, I will still enjoy that traveling experience minus the feeling of missing my boys for as long as I'm in MTC.