Hey, I am back in Taipei again. However, this time is only a short 1 night stay. Nevertheless, I am still glad that I am back at this wonderful and vibrant city.

Met up with JL yesterday for lunch before he jets off to Copenhagen for his SEP tonight. Well, I have known JL since Primary 1 and we were in the same class for 8 yrs (Pri 1-4, Sec 1-4) and in the same school for 12 years ( Montfort Primary & Secondary, Anderson JC). Before I moved to my current residence, we stayed just 2 blocks away from each other. I still remember the days when we would go home together from school and the days when I visited his house to discuss our projects. One interesting thing that I still remember vividly is that both of us like to come out with test papers for each other. His Maths questions are, without fail, very tough and can make you think of the solution for the whole night. Sometimes, we even pass this test papers to our fellow classmates to try the questions out. Those were the days.

After lunch, I decided to visit my old neighbourhood with JL. Seems like during this 5 years, lots of changes have taken place. Even Hougang Mall has been through a major refurbishment...somehow there are lots of eateries compared to the past. There are now more restaurants e.g. Soup Restaurant, Aijimen Ramen and the food court is comparable to those found in town. A glimpse of my neighbourhood shows that things have changed for the better though I still miss the old one.

A Walk Down Memory Lane ...

This is where I used to stay for 17 years ! The Block still looks the same except the exterior colours. Manage to see the stone chairs there ? Yea...thats where I used to wait for my schoolbus to pick me up and also the place where I used to gather with my friends and cousins. The shop at the void deck is no longer mend by the uncle who used to dote me. The mail boxes have changed...similar to the ones the new flats have now. The biggest improvement would be the installment of CCTV. Security for this area has definitely beefed up. Well Done! Other than all these, I guess other things still look pretty the same :D

This is the clinic I used to frequent when I am sick.

Some of the new addition to the neighbourhood park...a foot reflexology corner where one has to walk on those stones.

This basketball holds lots of memories for me. This is where I used to play basketball with my cousins and the place where I first able to cycle on a 2-wheel bicycle. Next to the basketball court, is the badminton court where I used to play badminton with my cousins and one of the maids whom my Uncle hired.

During the tour of my old neighbourhood, I saw a few familiar faces though they have grown older. The park did bring back lots of memories and I really love the park the most. It is in this park that people used to gather every morning and evening to gossip, to relax and to make full use of the park facilities. One thing that I now miss is the morning exercise the elderly used to do ( Was it called qi gong ? ). It's kinda of interesting. Though I have a mini park at my current residence, it cannot be compared to the one I used to enjoy. It just seems to me that many things are missing compared to the old park.

I just miss my old home and my ex-neighbours.

Promised to give u peeps an insight of Universal Studio Hollywood which I visited during my Los Angeles trip...so here it is after a delay of almost 2 weeks :

Yea, at last I managed to convince 2 khakis to go to Universal Studio with me. It's kind of hard to find such khakis because of the distance of the theme park from our hotel and the fact that most people prefer shopping to 'wasting' their precious only day at the themepark. As it was raining very heavily on the night we arrived and that showers was predicted on the day we were supposed to visit the themepark, three of us did hesitate awhile before we decided to place our bookings with the concierge. We thought that it would be better to get ourselves soak should it rain then to forgo such rare opportunity. The package (US $87) includes return shuttle between the hotel and Universal Studio and 1 full day admission ticket. Kind of worth it considering the journey takes almost 1 hour. To cut the story short, we made the right choice because the weather was fine though a little gloomy and the 3 of us really enjoyed ourselves.

Let the photos do the talking ...

Jasmine & I posing excitedly in front of the famous Universal Studio Globe.

The other entrance to Universal Studios Hollywood.

The first thing that u see upon entering the park.



If I am not mistaken, such Taxi used to be the 'trademark' of New York City. Sadly, these have now been replaced with another design.

First Attraction of the Day ( aka our Appetiser ) ....

Yea the famous Studio Tour which will take you to behind the scenes of some of the movies made, the props that were used in the movies and of course, if you are fortunate, you may even get to see some live filming and celebrities. Sad to say, I am not that fortunate because I spotted no one.

The whole tour lasted about 40 minutes. Really an eye opener and an enriching experience for us.

This was what we saw during our tour :

Do you find this place familiar ? Hmm...I just could not recall (I did remember the tour guide mention something about Back to the Future) ...maybe you guys can enlighten me ?

Some houses used in the movie. The Tour guide mentioned that they do from time to time reused the houses for other movies by altering the exterior here and there so that we, viewers, could not recognise.

Find this familiar ? I think I seen this before in Heroes ? Speaking of which, I have yet to complete watching my 1st season. Just finished watching the season before CNY ... haha.

Welcome to Amity Island. Beware though.... because you may get to see :


JAWS !!!!!!!!!!

War of the Worlds by Steven Spielberg

As I have not watch Desperate Housewives and that I have taken too many photos which kinda look similar, I am quite unsure if the below houses were used in Desperate Housewives. JL confirmed that they were the ones and I do hope so....

Actually I have many more photos on the Studio Tour which includes Godzilla. Due to space and time constraints, I did not post them here...my Sincere Apologies :D

Up Next, the various Rides and Shows

Jas & I praising the Jurassic Park Ride. Basically its a water ride....Rating : 3/5

Revenge of the Mummy : The Ride...In my opinion, the best ride in the park so far. Quite thrilling I would say. Not for the faint hearted....haha... Rating : 4/5

Ever wonder why the actor in the movie can fly or can grow to an enormous size ? Or ever wonder how various sounds are produced to make the movie more realistic ? Well, head over to Special Effects Stages where the secrets would be unveil :D

This is the must to visit....tell u its very scary. Not because of the dark. Not because there's lots of weird looking voodoos, vampires, mannequine inside. It's because there are 'real' ghosts floating around. Out of nowhere, they will just float past u and touch you. Wah, your heart will just jump out. No joke. Its very fun though. Oh ya, beware of all the corners and curtains u may find.

Shrek 4D with motion.

It's really a Water World...cos we got wet even though we were the audience :(

Nice Show

This is the best 3D show I have ever seen. It's really amazing and exciting. I am serious...This is the best I have seen. Job well done Universal.

Fear Factor LIVE....Phew....We managed to catch the last show of the day. In order to determine the winner, the competitors would have to go through 3 rounds of competition. 1st round : See who can hang onto the bar the longest time. 2nd round (worse) : See who can get all their number tags from a tank full of eels and hang their tags on the appropriate poles that were rotating. After which, they are required to drink a smelly mixture consists of worms, pig brains etc etc. The yoghurt like drink was damn gross and stink ! Yucks ! Last Round I can't remember much but I know it wasn't as challenging as the 2nd one. Bravo to all the competitors.

Photos with the various Characters :

Shrek

SpongBob Squarepants...its hands damn funny.

Trying to escape from JAWS

I am real happy to get the BEST ACTOR award... I would like to use this opportunity to thank my family, friends and FANS. Will work even harder next year. Hahaha....dreaming.

We Heart Scooby-doo !!!!!!!!!

Back to Stone Age...The Flintstones :D

HELP !!!! How dare u still take a pic of me when I am struggling ????? Frankenstein...You Watch Out !!!! I'll be BACK !

U come nearer I shall use the axe n hack u !!!

The actual capsule used in Apollo 13

HULK

Recognise these cares from The Fast and Furious - Tokyo Drift ?

The Simpsons : Kwik-E-Mart

Try your luck at one of these game stalls

Jas, the gal who fell in love with Spongbob Squarepants and is crazy over it....

So we spent the whole day at Universal Studio and we still left a couple of attractions uncovered. Though it was a weekend, it was virtually quiet at the themepark. There's virtually no queue everywhere....SHIOKness. I love Universal Studios....wonder how will the experience be when the one in Singapore open...shall see.

Up next : My Taipei Adventures. Stay tune.

Woohoo~... Just came back from Seoul... Was snowing in the morning on our departure day. Damn it...wasted...wanted to experience snow this time round but was a day earlier. If only I have an extra day in Seoul, it would even be more fun and memorable. Nevertheless, we did enjoy the snow for a while...hahaha. The last time I experience snow was in New York last March. I still remember it was snowing quite heavily when we arrived and the temperature was freezing cold at about -10 degree celsius. Really miss the fun and excitement we had on that trip. Just hope that I can get to experience snow again on my upcoming Moscow trip next week.

Was freezing cold (-2 degree celsius) when we arrived in Seoul the day before. As I did not bring enough winter clothing for this trip and the weather forecasted snow in the afternoon, I was contemplating if I should head out to Myeong-dong after I wake up from my nap. As there's nothing much to do in the room and that there was no snow and that the sun was quite strong when I woke up, I decided to go to the Shopping street for a walk.

It has been more than 1.5 yrs since I last visited Myeong-dong. Time really flies. I still remember vividly my last visit with SF during our Seoul and Vancouver trip. It seems to me that the place hasn't change much except that some new shops have replaced the old ones. Nevertheless, it's a nice shopping area where I did see lots of things which I like. Guess what... I saw my favourite Onitsuka Tiger store and when I entered the shop, I was wow by what I saw. The shoes designs are much nicer than the ones I saw in HK. I was really tempted to buy one or two pairs back but decided against it as I wanted to spend within my budget for this trip. When I left the shop and started walking around the area, I was still thinking of the shoes. I am still wondering if I have made the right choice...I really miss my shoes and they are damn unique and cool :(

Snapped some pics and here they are ...

Seoul Station

This is where I shopped (highly recommended)

Crowded Myeong-dong on a Sunday afternoon...

You can find some of the Korean specialty along the streets in Myeong-dong

Something like Shabu Shabu...the customers normally would buy and eat on the spot after dipping the stick of meat into some sauce. Something to look forward to on a cold winter day.

Hmm...not sure what's this is...look like some pancakes :O

Cuttlefish & hmm not sure what ... tapioca chips? Have absolutely no idea

Dare you to eat these long black octopus tentacles :P

It's Krispy Kreme again !!!!! The queue was long, so I did not bother to buy any. Hah.

Myeong-Dong after dark ...

Love the neon lights. Love the ambience. Love the crowd. Love the shopping.

Oh ya, I could not find my McDonald or KFC in Myeong-dong. The only KFC I know was under renovation. Walked from streets to streets and to and fro, I failed to find my Bulgogi Burger from Mac and Fried Chicken from KFC :( You all must be wondering whats so special about them...the Bulgogi Burger is damn nice and that the Fried Chicken is different from the ones found here...they are more crispy, tasty and more fragrant...Should try if you get a chance and you will know why. Plus my kimchi seaweed.

I vow that on my next Seoul trip, I will buy my shoes and clothes...no more second thoughts! Haha...