Haven't been feeling well for the past few days...was down with bad flu. Throat really hurts whenever I swallow my saliva and my voice was sexy. Runny nose and frequent coughing plus fever made me feel really sick and lethargic. Fortunately, I am now on the road to recovery while typing this post. Hopefully I have ample time to recover before I go on a eating spree in San Francisco and Hong Kong next week. Otherwise, whatever I eat will appear tasteless due to my block nose :(

In any case, I managed to stop myself from having my all-time favourite Hao Da Da Ji Pa and my Tian Bu La when I was in Taipei a couple of days ago. I did, however, had my usual dose of Bubble Tea, Ah Chong Mee Sua, Guan Cai Ban, Dan Bing and my favourite cut Taiwanese fruits...super duper sweet, juicy and fresh :P

The super long and huge Taiwanese sausage @ Shilin Night Market.

Thought that I will not step out of the hotel when I was in Bombay last week but I proved myself wrong when I suggested to my colleagues to have our dinner at the nearby restaurant which offered a much reasonable price than having @ our hotel.

Tuk-Tuk lining the road...

The very crowded street in Bombay. Noise Pollution was at all time high...lots of honks here and there...deafening...anyway, this is very common in India. Walked past the slum area and saw the poor's way of living. They cook, sleep, shower etc all in that little dirty makeshift huts by the roadside. The children, all with their colouring books, ran up barefooted to the foreigners each time they walk past, trying to make some money by selling their colouring books. Poor them. Really pity them and make me even more appreciate of what I have now. Really thank God for who I am today :D

MILAN & VENICE ( 12-17 Aug ) - Part I

Made a very last minute decision to fly to Milan after I got back from New York the other day. Nevertheless, I did not regret because I managed to make full use of my stay in Milan to sightsee. As it was a very last minute decision, I did not plan for any sightsee initially but instead thought that I would just rest and relax in the very beautiful hotel room in Milan. Thanks to my wonderful colleagues, sleeping is the only time I spent in the room.

After much discussion, we decided to venture off to Venice the morning after we touched down in Milan. Despite the fatigue, all of us were very enthusiastic about the trip. After consulting with the concierge, we walked to the train station which was a stone throw away from our hotel.

The station that's near our hotel - Villapizzone ... Thought that we were at the wrong station or that the station was no longer in use as we did not see a single soul around... we were like the only survivors after a fatal outbreak...not a SINGLE person really. You don't see any cleaners or even operators for goodness sake. It seemed like the station is running on its own. Should you need any help, may God bless you.

Centrale Station where you can get to Rome, Florence, Verona, Venice and even Zurich etc from here.

Check carefully which platform your designated train is leaving from. Otherwise you may end up somewhere else.

Our Boarding Pass from Milano Centrale to Venezia S. Lucia...a 3 hr train ride. Thought that the ticket might be expensive but turned out to be very affordable at about 22 Euros (S$45+) per person per way. Buying this ticket was easy as we bought it from the many self-service kiosk available. Simple and user-friendly plus you can avoid the queue if you were to buy it from the service counter.

Wonder what they were laughing at while munching their tortilla chips ?

After a 3 hour train ride.....Finally......We arrived @

VENICE !!!!!

Mei Mei and I just outside the train station.

Mei Mei, Jessica and I standing at one of the many bridges in Venice. Nice and breathtaking scenary. Oh Beautiful Venice with Beautiful Babes under Beautiful Sunlight :P

A small tourist shop selling lots of souvenirs.

Venice is really hot...very hot in fact...think around 33-35 degree celsius when we were there. So each of us had the famous Italian Gelato to cool ourselves down. Damn nice I tell you. Woohoo~

The famous Gondola in Venice...Long and Nice eh....the decoration etc make you feel like a Royal when you are on it. Too bad we did not manage to get onto it as it was very expensive...maybe the next time I am there :D.

Trying out the mask...No prize for guessing who this is :D

Love this mask...very nicely done and unique.

Other masks available. Each has its own emotions/expressions.

A typical scene @ Venice.

Can't remember what this famous bridge is called...anyway...its along the Grand Canal.

Mei Mei & I along the Grand Canal. It was very very crowded that day :D

One of the many small canals you will see in Venice

After walking around for approximately 2 hours from the train station...yes 2 hours under the super hot sun... we finally reached Basilica di San Marco. Its very big and grand. A must-see attraction in Venice. It's really worthwhile despite the long walk.

Mei Mei & I in front of the Basilica.

Time for a roasted pigeon....Anyone ? Wahahahaha.....

Love this cute small little gal. She's playing and feeding the pigeon so that her dad can take a nice pic of her with the pigeon. It seemed like it got a little out of control when this pigeon started crawling all over her shoulder and head.

One of the Italian favourite food...Pastry :P

Italian loves Olives...Olives stuffed bread...very healthy isn't it ?

Enjoying our sumptuous dinner next to a canal before heading back to Milan. Their food portions are very small but again, Italian loves to have many courses for a meal...thus explain the small portions.

Saw this pretty small gal with a mask on her while on our way back to Milan.

Part II of my Milan trip will be coming soon.

Time to pack my bag...going to San Francisco and Hong Kong tomorrow and will only be back on next Saturday. Can't wait to visit the 2 cities...Shopping & Food !!!!! Food Glorious Food...Yum Yum Yum :P:P:P