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  • Trip To Penang: Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion & Penang Road Chendul

    Trip To Penang: Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion & Penang Road Chendul

    Trip To Penang: Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion & Penang Road Chendul – After spending about an hour or less at the Peranakan Mansion, the next and also the last place to go with the PHT’s tour guide is the Blue Mansion, real name – Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. A very blue mansion that is rated top 10 mansion in the world by Yahoo! Travel.
    So, what’s so special about it? The special thing is you can take photos of it outside but inside, you are not allow to take any photos. So, sucks. The real special and cool thing is that the mansion was own by Cheong Fatt Tze, a super duper rich businessman from China. Then the mansion was built with a almost perfect feng shui setup which I don’t know how to explain, so you have to go there for a little tour to get the clue about it.
    Right now, it’s like a musuem, nothing much to see in there except listening to the tour guide explain about the place and it’s a hotel inside for tourist.

    Outside is fascinating, inside the feng shui explanation is cool, other than that, that’s it. It’s an OKOK-place for me, if I can snap pictures inside, it could be even awesome-er.
    Then,  it’s time to bid good bye to the Mr Tour Guide from PHT and it’s a very hot noon, I brought the same bunch of friends to some special treatment and that’s – Chendul! They all only know about Malacca’s Chendul, now they get to know another awesome Chendul in Malaysia – Penang Road Teochew Chendul! It’s so refreshing eating chendul under the hot weather.

    Do you like Penang’s Chendul?

  • My Hostel Room In Newcastle @ Lovaine Flats

    My Hostel Room In Newcastle @ Lovaine Flats

    My Hostel Room In Newcastle @ Lovaine Flats – In Malaysia, flat is like low-cost flat where you it’s a place to stay with a small living room and perhaps 1/2 room. Sounds, low cost, but in the UK, flat actually means apartment and the hostel I am living right now is call the Lovaine Flats. Yeah. Guess what, it’s actually the cheapest hostel in Northumbria University at £85/week and I don’t get my own bathroom.
    Befre. Empty room, with no bedding.
    Room is quite OK, location-wise is very good too which is very near to the city, the library and the gym, what’s not OK is there’s only one shower, and one WC! Oh my god, there’s 5-7 rooms in a flat and imagine you are having a stomachache and he/she is having a stomachache at the same time. Die lo.
    Kitchen for 5.
    OK, that’s me, in a room with stuff now.
    My workstation in the UK. I miss my big monitor screen and an awesome sound system back home.
    I don’t mind the room being small, because it’s bigger than the one I stayed in Taylor’s University, I don’t mind the room is not beautifully decorated because I have my own way to make it comfortable. Kitchen is OK, just lack of a good common area. Well, the dining chairs and table are definitely the place for me and the rest of the flatmate to chill. I’ve seen nicer one here but they are way more than mine at over £100/week. So I was thinking, since it’s just a place to sleep, why not save the extra pounds for something else, travel, perhaps?
  • A Good Day To Durham

    A Good Day To Durham

    Durham // A Good Day To Durham – Durham is a small town located just 45km from Newcastle upon Tyne and it’s a lovely place to visit as there’s a very beautiful Roman-style cathedral. The Durham Cathedral was also part of the film location for the first two Harry Potter films, so it’s a place must not be missed if you are visiting Newcastle, moreover the entrance to the cathedral is free!
    Last week, I’ve visited the Lumiere Festival at Durham, but this visit happened like 2 months ago when it was a very good day with beautiful clear blue sky and warm weather. We went to the bus station at Eldon Square to board the Angel 21 bus to Durham, it cost about £6.30 for a unlimited day trip ticket to Durham and back, so in between you can choose to stop by Angel Of The North for a little photoshoot, but we did after visiting Durham. Bus ride took about 45 minutes and it was pretty pleasant.
    I was like sticking my head out at the window, curiously looking out along the way as that time I was still very fresh to England, UK. 😀 Durham is small, everything is in walking distance, the town is small too, with a few retails outlet, and some eatery restaurants. There’s nothing much to do except chill walking in the peaceful UNESCO World Heritage Site, looking around and just relax. 🙂 It was really a good day, and I was so grateful for the sunshine. Well, it seems like visiting Durham during the winter might be interesting too, when there’s snow and the river Wear freezes. I shall plan another trip again, when it snows.
    On the bus Angel 21, heading to Durham..
    Wayne.
    Durham Cathedral and University of Durham on top.
    A group photo with Jon, Eunice, Yee Hua, Ling, Wayne & Alvin.
    Add caption
    Market Place, Durham.
    Sun bathing, embracing the sun.
    Standing by the grave.
    Harry Potter had his Quidditch practice here!
  • Angel of the North – A Huge Piece Of Steel Structure By A1 Road

    Angel of the North – A Huge Piece Of Steel Structure By A1 Road

    Angel of the North – A Huge Piece Of Steel Structure By A1 Road – Sometimes, my friend would ask me what to see in Newcastle, or is there anything that represent the Newcastle? Anything as in Big Ben, Tower Bridge for London, Petronas Twin Towers for Malaysia, and Newcastle? I would say the Angel of the North, and the Millennium Bridge. 😀
    Funny that my friend who went there and back told me, “It’s just a piece of useless steel standing by the major A1 road”. Haha. No matter it’s useful or useless, I still insisted to visit it to check it out. Indeed, it’s a huge piece of steel, doesn’t look like an angel (I don’t really know how an angel looks like, perhaps with a ring floating on top of the head, with feather wings.), I don’t really know the purpose, but it’s just an art installation to me, and I find it interesting!
    JUMP!
    It’s not easy to stick a huge piece of steel in the ground at North East where it often windy here. It’d been here for a long time since 1998, designed by artist Antony Gormley. It was a good, clear blue sky day and I just glad I visited it. Heading there is pretty easy, hop on the Angel 21 bus from Elton Square Bus Station or Durham and just alight when you see the angel. You can visit the angel when you are visiting Durham, it’s just in between the route from Newcastle to Durham. Cheers!
  • Durham Lumiere Festival 2013

    Durham Lumiere Festival 2013

    Durham Lumiere Festival 2013 – I find that I am quite lucky to visit the Durham Lumiere Festival last week because this beautiful light festival happens only once every two years. I am here in the UK for only a year, so I shall not skip this festival in Durham which is just so nearby to Newcastle.
    On the second week of arrival in Newcastle, I went to visit Durham and the Angel of the North, it was during the day time; visiting Durham after sun goes does gives a different feeling. The small little town with beautiful old cathedrals glows at night at this Durham Lumiere Festival. Instead of getting on the bus, we took the train to Durham and it takes about 15 minutes only! Train ticket was just £6.70 return (£4.45 with Rail Card), so that’s cheaper than the bus!
    Arriving at Durham at a different place (the train station) actually tried to test my way-finding skill, but luckily we met a friend who lives in Durham at the railway station who then brought us into town. A huge swamp of people was heading toward the town too, where the main venue for the light festival was. The light installations spread across various part of the town, first thing first we went to the information counter to get ourselves a guide-map.
    Best green curry I had in the UK
    We couldn’t really start the exploration then because we were hungry and we went to an Asian restaurant for dinner – Fat Buddha. Well, I guess that’s the best Asian food I’ve ever had since I came to the UK. Awesome green curry and awesome salad wasabi prawn. Energy recharged and we started following the guide map to the light installation.
    Music visualizer on a building!
    Water + Bleach = Light. Interesting.
    Desserted circus.
    The aquarium in a phone booth.
    The feeling of wandering the Durham town at night was pretty interesting. Light installation was somehow not as surprising as I thought, they were somehow smaller in scale, or simpler than I thought. However the image projection on Durham Cathedral was just uber cool, as well as the huge elephant projected at the castle gate. I like the light installation of plastic bag lanterns along the alley which is so colourful. The British-signature red telephone booth which turned into fish tank was interesting too!
    We didn’t really get to check out all the light installation as the time passes quite quickly, moreover we were like chit chatting and walking slowly. Haha. Nevertheless, it was a great night, not a large scale light festival, but I just enjoyed the evening with crowds and Durham. Lastly, we spent an hour at the rail at 3 degree celcius waiting for the next train! Oh my.
  • Sunset: Quayside, Newcastle Upon Tyne

    Sunset: Quayside, Newcastle Upon Tyne

    Sunset: Quayside, Newcastle Upon Tyne – Because the Quayside is rather far from where I stay, about 15 minutes walk, or shall say I am lazy to go there most of the time, so I hardly get my chance to shoot the sunset, or sunrise. Few weeks back, on a Sunday evening, I finally got my lazy ass off my room and head over to Quayside. It was late, about 3 something in the afternoon where the sun was starting to go low. Winter is coming yo, and my daylight is getting short. I see that it was a good clear sky there, I quickly walked to Quayside to chase the sun!
    It was almost there at the horizon, I couldn’t really get a glimpse of the beautiful egg yolk. Without any hesitation, I tried to head to the highest point that I can get to and that’s the Tyne’s Bridge. I ran and I walked fast and I reached Tyne’s Bridge. The sad thing was I was at the other side of the bridge, as in a wrong view. I couldn’t cross the road because the road is quite wide and many vehicles passing by.
    I guess, even if I get to cross the road, I couldn’t get a good view of it too because there’s the other bridge at far end blocking the view. Not really disappointed, at least, I had a good moment chasing the sun and I found a good spot for sunrise, that’s from Tyne’s Bridge! 😀
  • A Night Out At Habita – The Bar In Northumbria University

    A Night Out At Habita – The Bar In Northumbria University

    A Night Out At Habita – The Bar In Northumbria University – Perhaps Malaysia is an Islamic country where alcohol is a sensitive thing to the local Muslim, that why you will not see a bar or pub in a university. It’s not surprised to the Westerners that you can buy alcoholic drinks in campus. This is interesting to me, there’s 2 bars in Northumbria University, one is Habita, another is Red; one more is located at Domain, but only opens during event night, so no surprise that you can club in campus (But entrance is rather expensive, went in once at £10 per entry).
    All house in the Student Union building, something you normally see in Malaysia, the Habita sells food for lunch, and dinner, and later at night it’s just drinks. It gets more happenings during football match day where students will gather around in there to catch the match on the big screens. Some times, it’s also used as an event place too!
    My favourite drinks in Habita would either be a pint of Carling lager, or Strongbow cider (I know it’s girlish, but still great), because they are the cheapest @ £1.75/pint. 😀
  • Jonathan & Samuel’s Birthday At Moji Karaoke In Newcastle

    Jonathan & Samuel’s Birthday At Moji Karaoke In Newcastle

    Jonathan & Samuel’s Birthday At Moji Karaoke In Newcastle – A birthday celebration in Newcastle, a good Chinese food dinner at Moji’s Karaoke and Restaurant, the first KTV in UK and it was a good night. Happy birthday Jon & Sam!
    Just to let you know, KTV at here is not cheap at all. It’s not charged according to head like in Red Box or Loudspeaker. It’s charged by hours and the size of room and we picked a package of £168 which allows us to eat and drink up to £168 and includes 2 hours of KTV, additional hour costs another £25. So what do you think? But it was a fun night after all, I miss KTV with my girlfriend and friends back in Kuala Lumpur!
  • Newcastle United vs Manchester City At St. James Park

    Newcastle United vs Manchester City At St. James Park

    Newcastle United vs Manchester City At St. James Park – I am not a football fans, I do not know much about the football scene, but football, or soccer being the most popular sports in England, how can I not go to the stadium to catch a football match? I guess at the same time, I should brush up my football knowledge too!
    I don’t know what’s my favourite football team, I only knew that I select Manchester United most of the time when playing Fifa 2000 on the PlayStation. Haha. Very luckily, there’s happened to be a football match few weeks back at St. James’ Park Stadium, home stadium to the Newcastle United and it was a match under the Capital One Cup. The away team was Manchester City. Best part of all, the ticket to the match costed only £15! Premiere League’s ticket is about £40 on average.
    Without a Newcastle United jersey on, I wandered into the stadium with a bunch of newbie Asian, and sat ourselves among a whole gang of Newcastle United fans. Woah! The stadium is not as huge as I thought but the field was like so close to me! Now I know it’s cool to watch a match at the stadium than on ESPN, it’s just a bit weird where you can’t hear the commentary. Atmosphere was just brilliant with fans chanting and singing the football’s club anthem. It’s just feels great, and cold of course.
    Not a beautiful stadium for St. James Park, but the experience was worthwhile. I just shout and cheer as the person in front does. I’ve to say Newcastle United fans are diehard fans, without them the match would be different. They even applause when there’s no goal, it’s just a way to support the player, “Good shot”.
    Unfortunately, the 90 minutes ended with a tie of 0-0. Extra time added and Manchester City won the game with 2 goals. I would say my £15 was well spent as I got 120 minutes of football match. Haha. Good experience after all.
  • JJ’s Cafe – Malaysian Food In Newcastle

    JJ’s Cafe – Malaysian Food In Newcastle

    JJ’s Cafe – Malaysian Food In Newcastle – Malaysian are now spread all over the world, although not as huge group as the Chinese are, but there is a lot of Malaysians residing in the UK, or other western country. Thus, looking for a Malaysian cuisine to cure homesickness is rather easy, same goes to Newcastle Upon Tyne, where I am right now. This little city in the North East of England has as many as 3 restaurants selling Malaysian’s cuisine. One being JJ’s Cafe, another one is Mamak Corner and the last one is Rasa Nusantara.
    JJ’s Cafe is located on Heaton Road, somewhere about 25 minutes away from City Campus, somewhere near Morrisons, you will know if you resides in Newcastle.
    Speaking about JJ’s Cafe, their menu is pretty much Malaysian food, you can find most of the mainstream Malaysian food like Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, Chicken Curry, Curry Laksa, Wantan Mee (dry), Maggi Goreng, Roti Canai, as well as Char Koay Teow and more. One thing about eating Malaysian food abroad is with an open mind, do not expect much and don’t compare with home. The taste is may not come close, but they are good somehow. Other than Malaysian food, they do English breakfast and tea too, but they never caught my craving till now.
    Wayne with his cute finger.
    Anchyi with her Nasi Briyani. Looks good!
    Alvin & me.
    Jon and Ivan of HK!
    Curry chicken rice, I was not attracted to this because I can cook my own curry at home. XD
    Hainanese Chicken Rice which doesn’t feels hainanese to me, but then it’s good!
    Char Koay Teow, not Penang-style, I’ll just call it a general Malaysian style, spicy and sweet. I find it good.
    Food choices are pretty awesome, so do the price, most of the food at less than or around £5 which I would say reasonable because you can hardly find this price of Malaysian food in the UK. One funny thing that my friend told me that, if you see Malaysian food selling more than £6/7, the owner must be a Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indian/Malay would be selling them cheaper. =D LOL.
    JJ’s Cafe
    16 Heaton Road,
    Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6 1SD
    Telephone: +44 1912657766
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