Studieresan (The Study Trip)

I'm Still Alive

2007-06-16T02:11:00.000+08:00

Sorry about not updating for a while.
I've ended the motorbike trip without any serious injuries and gone back through Vietnam with stops in Da Nang, Nha Trang and Saigon to finally return to Singapore.
After getting back to Singapore, I went over to Malaysia to see James, a guy I learned to know in Sweden when we did our master studies together.

I'll update with more details and photos from the rest of the trip.

Dirt Roads of Laos

2007-06-03T22:40:00.000+08:00

I ended up going back to Vientiane to get a dirtbike to explore the northern part of Laos more independently. Once there I ran in to an English guy, Henry, with the same plans. So here we are, on two Hondas exploring the more remote parts of Laos.

Yesterday was our first day on the roads, going from Viantiane to Tha Thom (a small village without electricity way out in the bush) via Paksan.
We managed to get to our destination not to long after dawn, and without running out of gas, but I have to admit that the road there were in much worse condition than I had thought. After a day including falling off, passing rivers with meter high water and get stuck in the mud we had a good nights sleep before todays adventure going up to Phonsavan.

On the way to Phonsavan we stopped by to see some of the jars at the famous Plain of Jars, an area covered with hundred of jars from the stone age and probably thousands of unexploded ordnances from the U.S. two million tons bombardments.

Vientiane and Vang Vien

2007-05-31T22:58:00.000+08:00

After a cramped bus ride over night to Vientiane, the not so very busy capital of Laos, I spent a day there, to see some more temples and visiting the morning market.
There is not much to do in Vientiane, so I decided to go to Vang Vieng, a way more happening place north of the capital. The last few days have been filled by tubing in the river and in caves, caving and kayaking. The main attraction here besides the amazing landscape are the swings out in the river, where tourists who go tubing down stops by for a drink, smoke and to play around.

Laos - Savannakhet

2007-05-26T21:36:00.000+08:00

After spending the whole day travelling from Hue I finally arrived in Savannakhet, Laos. Even that I had paid for air conditioned tourist bus, the one waiting on the other side of the boarder was the one in the picture. This small town, Savannakhet, in southern Laos looks like a ghosttown, with abandoned old buildings in french colonial style it could just have been an almost abandoned town in Lousiana.
The big difference from Vietnam is that people here are more friendly (not that aggressive when it comes to offering services or selling stuff) and they take every opportunity to speak some English with foreigners. Overall Laos feels more relaxed than Vietnam and will hopefully be a pleasant stay.

Hoi An and Hue

2007-05-25T20:12:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was spent in Hoi An, a charming city filled with tailors. I spent the day walking Hoi An Old Town, a Unesco World Heritage site, followed by a bicycle trip on the country side, that eventually ended at the beach instead of the Pagodas.
Hoi An is a really nice city that I have to return to on my way back to Saigon, if not for the cheap tailors so for the ice cream and cafes.

Today I arrived in Hue, another historical city that used to be the political capital. I've been walking around the old citadel and seen the Imperial Enclosure, with the forbidden purple city and the old town.

Nha Trang - Diving

2007-05-23T20:07:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a good day, my cold got better so I could finally go diving. Diving around the islands outside of Nha Trang was a pleasant experience, the corals were quite nice and an abundance of smaller fishes.
Today I've spent the day at the beach waiting to take off for Hoi An, a ten hours bus ride up north during the night. I plan to spend a day or two there before I head for Hue then into Laos.

Nha Trang

2007-05-20T22:06:00.000+08:00

Today I travelled from Mui Ne to Nha Trang, another beach resort. There are more people here than in Mui Ne, but still not crowded. Probably as many prostitutes as tourists roaming the streets, so one can definitely tell that it's not the peak season.
Nha Trang is supposed to be a good place for diving, and due to the lack of tourists the prices seem to be quite competitive. Unfortunately I got a cold or allergic reaction yesterday, so my nose is completely congested, so diving tomorrow is no option. Hopefully a good nights rest and vitamin cocktails will get me better until Thursday.

Another thing is that I found out that I'm only allowed to stay in Vietnam for 15 days instead of 30, meaning that I need to leave the country for a while. I haven't decided whether I'll go to China for a few days or doing a part of the back trace through Laos instead of back through Vietnam down to Saigon.

Mui Ne

2007-05-18T18:59:00.000+08:00

Today I got to Mui Ne, a small town famous for windsurfing and kitesurfing. Unfortunately there is no wind now, and the forecast let us know that it wont come for the next days. The beach here is really nice and it's not crowded at all. So let's hope for a sunny day tomorrow.
(edit: The pictures from around Mui Neh, was taken during the 19th)

Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels

2007-05-18T00:05:00.000+08:00

Today's been an intense day visiting a mass at the multi religious Cao Dai Temple and Viet Cong's Cu Chi Tunnels, which played an important role in the Vietnam war. Tomorrow I'm planning on travelling some four hours up the coast for some water sports and sun.

For those of you who don't really know where I've been, take a look at the map above and try to locate Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon in the south.

Vietnam - Saigon

2007-05-16T21:30:00.000+08:00

After spending some really nice relaxing days in Singapore meeting up with all friends and tried to pick up windsurfing again it was finally time to get on, to Vietnam.

I arrived yesterday (15th) to Ho Chi Minh City, where I'm writing this right now.
The Vietnam rip off started off before arriving here, when Jetstar refused to check me in because I didn't have a return ticket, and thereby forced me to go buy one. This means that I have to come back to Saigon when going back to Singapore instead of taking off from Hanoi, but since my plans are quite flexible this should not be that much of a problem. Fortunately I arrived an hour in advance so I just made it before the gate closed.
I'm now staying in a fairly cheap mini hotel at Pham Ngu Lao, the backpacker place in Saigon, which is like a mini Th Khao San Road. Today I've been walking around the city center and been to the war remnant museum. I've also been to various markets: Ben Tanh Market, the Hong Kong Market and the Chinese Market. I took a cyclo tour to the Cholon area outside the city center, China town and to a lot of temples.
Once I find a computer that works better I'll try to upload some photos.

Finally I have to let you know that everything is great, and to spend five weeks in this country shouldn't be any problem at all.

Exam's Over

2007-05-03T00:42:00.000+08:00

Now it's done, no more exams - finito. Unfortunately this also means that there will be no more Singapore. Without having too high expectations I think I did quite good on the papers, at least if they can read what I've been writing and can open the answer book that I accidentally soaked in coke.
The plan for the future is to travel more of Southeast Asia, probably Vietnam and maybe Myanmar (Burma). But until I find a cheap ticket I will enjoy my time here in Singapore.

Geylang

2007-04-19T22:56:00.000+08:00

My friends thought it was a real shame that I hadn't seen one of Singapore's most exciting places: Geylang!
Therefore Alvin, Alda, Zenhan, (left picture) Weisiong, Yanqing and Yijie (right picture) took me there. Geylang is famous for its good food. We had some really nice food, for the first time of my life I tried to eat frog legs with porridge. For dessert we went on to have fermented bean curd, which is not so bad after all.
We also took the tour to see what else there is to do in the area. One of the activities is reconstructed by Alda and Zenhan in the picture to the right.

Exam Studies

2007-04-18T21:53:00.000+08:00

Life abroad is not only free time, vacations and parties. After some time the inevitable exams comes up and procrastination is no longer an option. Some two weeks are more or less dedicated to studying for the (hopefully) four last exams of my life. The papers here are slightly different from what I'm used to; the time constraints are harder, you only have two hours per paper instead of five, of course with fewer question, so you have to carefully watch how much time you spend on each of them.
Fortunately I found some nice people who I can study with and to help me keep up the work. We stay in room with air-condition that the Singaporeans just love to crank up to create something like permafrost and a freezing exchange student.

Back in Singapore

2007-04-14T20:13:00.000+08:00

After only a week of Thailand's sun I had to go back to Singapore to write a test and to start study for the upcoming exams. From Phuket Airport I flew to Kuala Lumpur from where I, after some struggles, managed to get on a bus back to Singapore.
When my parents returned here we did some touristy stuff as taking the tour boat on Singapore river and visiting Orchard Road, Little India and Arab Street.
Since my parents found out that they have their 30th anniversary this year we decided to go to have a lobster dinner and get a feel of the old colonial Singapore at the famous Raffles Hotel.
Before they left we also experienced the "monkey business" in Singapore while trying to buy a camera at Sim Lim Square.

See more photos here

Koh Phi Phi with my Parents

2007-04-07T18:47:00.000+08:00

After exploring Phuket we decided to go over to Koh Phi Phi, an island in between Phuket and Krabi in the Andaman sea. We spent one day on a snorkeling trip going in one of the famous long tail boats. Between the banana pancakes and milkshakes we went to see some of the more remote beaches on the island. Unfortunately I had to leave early to write a test, but my parents continued their Tahiland trip for another week. After Koh Phi Phi they went to Ko Lanta and further up to Ao Nang, Krabi, before returning to Singapore.

See more photos here

Phuket With My Parents

2007-04-04T17:29:00.000+08:00

We left Singapore in the late afternoon and arrived in Phuket at dinner time. We stayed the first night in Patong, but didn't really like it. Therefore we decided to rent some motorbikes to travel around the peninsula. During the next days we went to Karon, Kata, Chalong and many other nice places around the southern part of Phuket. We didn't spend that much time on the beaches since it took some time for two of us to get used to the sun after a few months of winter.

See more photos here

My Parents in South East Asia

2007-04-02T17:18:00.000+08:00

After not having seen my parents for about nine months, they decided to go see me instead. They flew to Singapore to spend a night here before the three of us continued to Phuket in Thailand.

Parties

2007-03-28T00:05:00.000+08:00

When studying hard it is important to take a break every once in a while. For exchange students this usually means to go partying even though we do not really study that hard. When going to Insomnia last week I ran into my second cousin, Erik (in the picture to the left), who studies at NUS for this semester.

For the weekend we heard a rumour about someone throwing a house party. Since we are all tired of going to the same places over and over again we decided to see if this was true... and yes, there was a house party going on. And we were not the only ones who had heard about it. The house was filled up with hundreds of people (mostly foreigners, but also some Singaporeans). It was going on fine for a few hours, before the police decided to show up and ... the party was over.

Mosaic Music Festival

2007-03-18T23:52:00.000+08:00

There is not much going on at the campus these days. Fortunately Singapore is a big city with plenty of events going on. Therefore I and Mark, an PhD student from England, decided to go down to the Esplanade to see the grand finale of the Mosaic Music Festival. The festival had been going on for the past ten days with performances of famous artists from all over the world. We could enjoy over four hours of various free music performances during the night before heading back for another week at the campus.

X-Physique 2007

2007-03-11T23:39:00.000+08:00

Me and some other exchange students from NTU decided to join what is called "the most exciting urban adventure race" or X-Physique 2007. An urban adventure race that included running, swimming, cycling, kayaking and abseiling taking place in the city of Singapore for about half a day. There were two teams of exchange students that participated, my team - Team Adrenaline, consisting of me, Perrine, Jörg and Timo, and the other team - Team O. Unfortunately non of us succeeded in winning the race, but what was more important was that Team Adrenaline ended up before Team O and we all had lots of fun.

Erik's Visa Run

2007-03-11T23:16:00.000+08:00

Once I got back to Singapore my old friend, Erik who now works in Thailand during the winter, decided to go to Singapore for a visa run. Since I was getting back from Borneo the very same day he could stay with me for some days.

We took a typical one day city tour (pictures here) and had time to try out some really nice food, like Swedish meat balls at IKEA.

The Jungles of Borneo and Semporna again

2007-03-06T19:23:00.000+08:00

After a jungle trip for three days, watching crocodiles, mosquitoes, birds etc. At this place, Uncle Tan's, I met two other swedes out travelling the world.
After the safari I decided to go climb Mt Kinabalou, but ended up with Eric and Patric on a bus in the wrong direction. Therefore I decided to go back to Semporna for some more diving at Sipadan.
I'm expecting to get back to Singapore for the weekend.

Life Update

2007-03-02T13:17:00.000+08:00

Well, I haven't updated for a while now... but don't worry, I'll let you know what's going on.

After spending the Chinese New Year in Singapore I got off to Gunung Stong, Malaysia for some caving and of course climbing the mountain and exploring the waterfall together with the NTU ODAC group. Then again back to Singapore to participate in a floorball tournament, doing laundry and pack the bag for the next trip - Borneo.
After spending the first day in Kuta Kinabalou I met up with some friends to go diving at Sipadan and Mabul for three days. (I have to add that we are living on an oil rig platform). This far I've been doing three dives at Sipadan island, and we are heading for a few more today after lunch.
Hope you enjoy your time as much as I do.

Gunung Stong, Malaysia

2007-02-26T00:23:00.000+08:00

Spring Break in Singapore means time to catch up for local students and plenty of traveling for us on exchange. I started off by going to Gunung Stong Waterfalls trek together with a large group of Singaporeans organized by NTU ODAC.

They all turned out to be nice people and I got to know some more Singaporeans that can show me what life in this part of the world is about.
Well, off we were to Gunung Stong, by taking the train from Johor Bahru to Dabong.

Prepared for some three-four days of more or less intense activities as climbing the mountain, caving in one of Malaysia's caves, and sliding down natural slides in the waterfall I packed for what I was told cold weather - unfortunately this was not the same definition as I mine so 75% of what I brought was never used.

Of course some of us also made it up to the summit.

On the way to the caves

One of the waterfalls

A photo of my expedition group. Selamat Datang - as they say in Malaysi.

Gunung Stong

Click here to get to the photo album.

You can also read Yijie's reflections about the trip here.

Chinese New Year

2007-02-20T23:30:00.000+08:00

The Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in Singapore, almost all families gathers together for some traditional celebrations with friends and families.
This means that for us foreigners there is not that much to do, it is actually quite hard finding anything to do. Almost every store shuts down, we even had problems finding places to go eat.
Of course we had to go downtown to see what kind of celebration they have down in the city, so me, Miguel, Izabella, Marlena, together with Mark and his flatmate, decided to go check it out.

For once we could walk around in an almost empty MRT station and walking the streets off the business quarters without running into people.
We went to see both Chinatown and the Esplanade.

A few days later Me and Timo were invited to Ruo's family to celebrate the New Year in a traditional way. This included of course giving parcels (containing money, even we got some), eating and drinking, just like our Christmas. But then came the big differences - gambling, which is a big part of the gathering. Of course we did it too. Spending hours learning new card games and loosing money at the same time.
This was a really appreciated night. Thanks Ruo!
(more pictures are found here)

Costume Party

2007-02-14T00:09:00.000+08:00

Last weekend the Norwegians hosted their first party this year - a costume party!
It started up at in hall 10 and around midnight the party people went on to MOS, of course wearing our special attires. My idea was to dress up in traditional Chinese style with a silk costume, but since this was not enough I decided to add some extra bling bling ala Chinese pimp to match the entire outfit. Finally I was going to mix up with all the locals down at Ministry of Sound.
I have to admit that it was an interesting experiece to go clubbing in a traditional chinese super kung fu dress combined with a wall ornament (almost made me feel invinsible).

Matfest och kameraletande

2007-02-06T00:02:00.000+08:00

Jodå, jag kan skriva på Svenska också.
Äntligen har det ordnat upp sig med mina kurser, så nu har jag lite mer saker att göra på dagarna. Jag läser nu Java, Databaser, Professional Communication och Digital Video Processing. Det är väl synd att kalla det heltidsstudier med tanke på tempot, men det skadar ju inte med lite extra tid att hänga vid poolen och ut och resa.
Helgen tillbringades i Singapore, utan att gå ut en enda gång, istället satsade vi på temat MAT. Efter att sprungit runt på Sim Lim Square för att skapa mig en uppfattning om vilken kamera det är jag ska ha blev det dags att varva ner lite. Det gjordes genom att äta sushi i fredags kväll kombinerat med bowling då vi missade biljetter till bion.
Ungefär samma sak var det på lördagen förutom att vi bytte ut sushin mot en gigantisk brasiliansk buffé - åååh vad gott att äta kött på riktigt. På detta ställe, Carnivore på Vivo City, spenderade vi flertalet timmar med att spänna ut buken. Efter att proppat magen full med mat var det ingen som var särskilt pigg på att springa över till St James för att svänga de lurviga i Sambatakter.
Söndagen avslutades med att äntligen se den där filmen som vi missade. För att sedan ta igen allt slappande tog jag upp tennisen igen för den här terminen, det gav mig rejält med träningsverk och mersmak.
Nu återstår bara den stora frågan; vilken kamera ska det bli som dokumenterar kommande äventyr?

Cameron Highalands

2007-02-01T22:02:00.000+08:00

Over a long weekend from the 25th to the 28th of January, I and three other swedish guys (Maxim, Karl and Christofer) went to Cameron Highlands, a colder place in Malaysia.
It's considered to be a cool and pitoresque retreat filled with high altitude tea plantations that covers the mountains as high as 2000m over the sea level.

We stayed at a nice but oddly shaped gueshouse that looks like a bunker style half tube.

We took two half day tours with our guide Kumar, who tought us everything about the leafs and trees in the jungle - it's amazing how useful some of the plants can be. Kumar also took us to a remote tribe village, that we reached by Landrover. It was an interesting experience to see how people live without what we call civilization. During the tours we also went to see the Boh Tea Estate with plantages and a factory.

While being around we went for some jungle tours with Kumar and by ourselves. We also went to see a butterfly garden and a strawberry farm.

Photo Albums

2007-01-25T14:36:00.000+08:00

Finally! Here are some photo albums from the recess in Thailand and Cambodia.

Phuket and Ko Phi Phi with Fangcun

Cambodia - Phnom

Penh, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat together with Elaine, Ruoyun, Jasmine, Gilles, Lawrence, Ann, Kelvin and Take

Northern Thailand - Phitsanulok, Pai and the way back to Bangkok with the singaporean girls Jasmine, Elaine and Ruo

Bangkok - with Take, Ruo, Jasmine and Elaine

Visiting Erik and Jonatan in Ao Nang

Post Trip Party, Party and Life at NTU

2007-01-25T13:46:00.000+08:00

Last week's been quite intense, attending two lectures (still not approved for the classes), swimming and parties.
Some of us who went to Cambodia together had a post trip party at Ruo's place, to share pictures and eating good food. She lives on the east coast of the island with a magnificient view over the city from the 30th floor.Two Scottish exchange students had their birthday party on the Saturday, which included going out to St James again
The Sunday was spent at playa de la Singapura - Sentosa Island together with some Swiss, French and Canadians, unfortunately I was the only one not understanding French.For the first time in my life I got to see cheerleading, which was named Hall Olympiad. Every hall had a team that competed against each other. When seeing the size of the girls I realized why this is not a big thing back in Europe, at least not if you are over 12.

Back in Singapore

2007-01-18T23:46:00.000+08:00

After the lovely trips in Cambodia and Thailand I returned to Singapore (after a 25 hours bus ride from Krabi) to find that it was growing mold all over my room, all my clothes, bedsheets, etc. had to be taken care of - not exactly what I wanted...

This weekend I went to a housewarming party at Harbor Front, where a Swedish guy and some Norwegians moved after getting sick of the NTU campus last semester. The party ended at St James Power Station, a fairly new great nightclub here in Singapore that provides live music with south American influences.

By participating in the recording of a deodorant commercial on the Sunday I'm thinking about changing my career into acting, instead of doing engineering stuff in an office for the rest of my life. We'll see if it makes me the star I really am

The idea was to start to work on my master thesis this semester, which I did for the first week. When I realized that it got much more complicated to have it taken into account back home I decided to drop out and take some classes instead. Unfortunately I was now a week late for registration of them, meaning that the most interesting modules have no more vacancies, so I had to take some other. Just hope they turn out to be interesting and not take up to much time. In the meantime while waiting for the approvals I will spend most of the time at the pool doing nothing.

I've also seen the Swedish ship Götheborg that stopped by at Singapore during it's trip around the world. For more info about Götheborg and what it's about click this link.

Take in Singapore! The Japanese guy Take that we got to know during our trip in Cambodia came unexpectedly to Singapore to meet up with us for a few days. We went to Mount Faber, 116 meters over the sea and then to a typical place to go eat in the middle of the night.

And for the this semester: let's hope for some good weather and that the classes turns out to be ok

Ao Nanag, Krabi over New Year

2007-01-06T08:54:00.000+08:00

More Bangkok

2006-12-30T14:06:00.000+08:00

Bangkok

2006-12-27T13:52:00.000+08:00

Xmas - On the way to Bangkok

2006-12-25T13:45:00.000+08:00

Rafting

2006-12-23T00:38:00.000+08:00

Pai, Thailand

2006-12-22T00:24:00.000+08:00

Angkor Wat and Siem Riep (Cambodia)

2006-12-17T22:17:00.000+08:00

Kambodja

2006-12-14T20:20:00.000+08:00

Efter sodra Thailand blev det dags att aka till Kambodja, dar jag befinner mig nu. Val framme i Phnom Penh motte jag upp med ett gang fran Singapore som jag nu reser tillsammans med. Vi har tillbringat ett par dagar i Phnom Penh, for att idag tagit oss upp till Siem Riep. Imorgon ska vi upp tidigt for att titta pa soluppgangen fran Angkor Wat.

Thailand forsta gangen

2006-12-11T19:55:00.000+08:00

Hej pa er, nu har jag antligen kommit till skott for att dela med mig lite av mina reseupplevelser. Till att borja med akte jag tillsammans med Fangcun till Phuket och sen vidare till Phi Phi Island dar vi solade, snorklade, vandrade med mera i ett par dagar.

Ut och aka

2006-12-07T20:52:00.000+08:00

Hej pa er allihop. Nu har antligen det stora ogonblicket kommit, bagaget ar incheckat och vi vantar pa att flyget ska lyfta. Till att borja med aker jag tillsammans med fransmannen Fangcun till Phuket, Thailand, for att sola, bada och bara ha det skont i nagra dagar.
Efter detta beger jag mig vidare mot Cambodia, dar jag moter upp med ett gang singaporeanskor och Gilles som jag var pa Bali med. Tillsammans ska vi (om vi kommer overens) besoka Angkor Wat, resten av Camdodia och norra Thailand. Antagligen kommer nyar att firas i Bangkok, medan Julafton ar lite mer oklart.
Ni far ha det sa bra sa lovar jag att skicka upp en massa harliga solskensbilder fran resan.

Titta garna in lite oftare nu for jag ska forsoka uppdatera lite mer frekvent.
/Johan

Rummet

2006-11-20T23:47:00.000+08:00

Så här bor man två personer på ca. 16 m2... Har äntligen vågat ta kort sen min rumskamrat plockat iordning på sin sida, han har ju också tentor. Jag tillbringar mest tid i den vänstra avdelningen
Eller till höger från det här hållet

Utsikt från fönstret

Regnskog vs tentaplugg

2006-11-18T23:29:00.000+08:00

Det blev en promenad i ett av naturresarvaten här i Singapore, istället för skola. Jag och Fangcun tog en halvdagstur i MacRitchie Reservoir Park, och besökte också "the TreeTop walk" - en hängbro i höjd med trädkronorna

Utsikt från ett utsiktstorn

Något exotiskt varanliknande djur

Fredag kväll

2006-11-17T23:11:00.000+08:00

En hälsning från fredagens roof-top party

Födelsedag med kalas på Svenska Ambassaden

2006-11-06T01:54:00.000+08:00

Eftersom jag fyllde år hade svenska staten sett till att uppvakta mig alldeles särskilt. Detta gjordes genom att bjuda in mig och andra Svenska studenter i Singapore till ambassaden på kalas.

Här fick vi chans att mingla lite och äta potatis och pannbiff

Givetvis uppassade av betjänter.

Måste flika in att jag fick faktiskt lite paket och gratulationskort från Sverige också

Vad gör man när man inte pluggar?

2006-10-28T17:44:00.000+08:00

Jo då kan man hålla på med an massa idrotter, till exempel tennis, volleyboll och landhockey. Här är lite bilder från förmiddagens tennisträning
En del av vårt lag
Och här är jag också med. Det är ju ingen nackdel att vara lite längre när man ska serva :)

Födelsedagsfest

2006-10-27T17:37:00.000+08:00

Här är lite bilder från Elaines födelsedagskalas på Bar
Baa Black Chick i Little India.
Alltid kul när vi utbytesstudenter blir inbjudna till lokala events.
Födelsedagsbarnet själv
samt två strålande DJs
Jasmine var också där. Och den obligatoriska posen med fingrarna

Adress

2006-10-20T13:25:00.000+08:00

Hej tänkte att jag kunde lägga up min adress här ifall ni skulle få för er att skicka något eller så...
Johan Birgerson
24 Nanyang Avenue
Hall of Residence 9
Blk 46-1-868
Singapore 639811

Fotoalbum

2006-10-14T17:17:00.000+08:00

Hej, efter att nästan återhämtat mig från matförgiftningen har jag nu lagt upp lite bilder från lovet för ett par veckor sedan. De finns i länken fotoalbum till höger på sidan.

Ny design

2006-10-12T02:36:00.000+08:00

Japp som ni ser har jag ändrat lite på utseendet, samt lagt till en länk till mitt fotoalbum. Jag lovar att det kommer upp mer bilder från lovet snart (både här i bloggen och i fotoalbumet), mycket snart. Den som väntar på något gott ...

Pulau Dayang - sista kvällen och hemresa

2006-09-24T11:37:00.000+08:00

Pulau Dayang - lite till

2006-09-24T11:34:00.000+08:00

Pulau Dayang - ännu fler bilder

2006-09-23T01:02:00.000+08:00

Så här såg min utrustning ut
Här är vår resort

Pulau Dayang - mer bilder

2006-09-23T00:50:00.000+08:00

Pulau Dayang - Ditresan

2006-09-22T23:55:00.000+08:00

Här lämnar vi NTU för att ta oss till Pulau Dayang i Malaysia
Efter ca. 4 timmars bussresa byttes det till dykbåtar för att ta oss till ön, ca. 4 timmars resa till genom natten
Så vi passade på att tillbringa natten i mycket trevligt sällskap på taket på båten

Boende

2006-09-22T15:01:00.000+08:00

Eftersom det regnar en hel del kan man ta sig i stort sett överallt på campusområdet genom att gå under sådanahär tak

När det regnar så kommer det mycket på en gång. Därför består hela ön av avrinningskanaler

Så här ser mitt boende ut på håll

Och detta är entren till "Hall Of Residence 9," alltså min hall

När det är bättre städat så kommer det bilder innifrån också, men jag vill inte skrämma up någon i onödan...

Skolan

2006-09-22T14:56:00.000+08:00

Även om man inte alltid tror det så har jag hittat dit också. Här är lite bilder på de lokaler jag spenderar lite dagtid i
Matsal, ofta mycket kö och svårt att hitta någonstans att sitta
Större delen av skolan har en lite futuristisk design, och ser ut som det här
Detta är vägen till och från där jag bor

Dykcertifikat

2006-09-16T14:47:00.000+08:00

Jajjamen, för att kunna hänga med på diverse utflykter krävs det imellanåt att man har det där dykcertifikatet, så det håller på att tas.
Efter att genomgått en teorikurs är det här dags att kännas på utrustningen på riktigt - i skolan härliga simbassäng!
Tyvärr har jag ingen undervattenskamera så det blev inte fler bilder

Kräftskiva i Singapore

2006-09-15T14:13:00.000+08:00

Jodå, IKEA har det mesta. Tack vare IKEAs stora sortiment och några svenskors initiativ gick vi inte miste om en traditionell kräftskiva, med hattar, kräftor och annat som hör den svenska traditionen till

Det var inte bara god mat det bjöds på, de stackars singaporeanerna fick lystna till svensk skönsång så det stod härliga till

Varför ser man så hemsk ut på kort? Tyvärr är detta det enda jag har som jag är med på

Från Clarke Quay till Bugis

2006-09-10T14:04:00.000+08:00

Detta är en bild från Clarke Quay, ett område som hyser diverse finare restauranger, pubar och uteställen.

Här poserar jag framför en fontän inne på området

Vid bugis finns det flera tempel, nästan alla religioner är representerade. Här är en bild från ett Hindu tempel

Och här är ett annat tempel - ett stort shopping område

RSAF Open House

2006-09-02T13:57:00.000+08:00

Nu var det öppet hus påSingapores flygbas, så vi åkte dit för att titta på lite flyguppvisning med mera

Viktor förklarar varför man helst inte ska stå bakom en jetmotor när den startar

Jag poserar framför en ganska stor helikopter

I Singapore är det mesta ganska uppstyrt, speciellt när det gäller köandet

Sentosa (Singapores egen playa)

2006-08-27T13:52:00.000+08:00

Har man inget för sig efter söndagens långa och välförtjänta sovmorgon kan man ta sig ut till Sentosa. Sentosa är singapores lilla turistö, men lyfter man blicken mot horisonten märker man tydligt av att detta land är känt för sin stora hamn

Palmer på stranden ger ett mer exotisk intryck

På väg hem kan man stanna till i Chinatown och äta lite mat och ta sig en bit durian - king of the fruits, som luktar lite sådär...

WOMAD (Festival i stan)

2006-08-26T13:42:00.000+08:00

Nu kommer det äntligen upp lite bilder på vad som hänt nere i Singapore under September månad. Detta är bilder tagna på WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance) som kan liknas vid en kringresande festival. På bilden här är några av oss som var där.

Sen roade vi oss kungligt hela natten.

Bintan - Indonesien (dag 2)

2006-08-20T22:56:00.000+08:00

I söndags förmiddag blev det lite bad och en kanottur
På eftermiddagen hyrde vi en taxi med chaufför som tog oss runt på den relativt stora (jämför Singapore) ön

Så här ser visst en bensinstation ut

Bintan - Indonesien

2006-08-19T22:41:00.000+08:00

Nu i helgen bar det iväg till Bintan som är en av öarna i Indonesien. Där åkte vi till östra sidan av ön och bodde i stugorna som syns på bilden här intill. Alla bekvämligheter fanns fast avloppet gick visst rätt ut...
Det blev lite sol och bad, fast badet tog vi av naturliga skäl en bit härifrån

Jag åkte som ensam svensk tillsammans med sju fransmän, en australiensare och en tysk.

Johor Bahru - Malaysia

2006-08-13T23:49:00.000+08:00

Efter söndagens välförtjänta sovmorgon bestämde jag, Philip och Lars oss för att ta en eftermiddagssväng till Malaysia
Att komma från Singapore till Malaysia är en rätt så stor omställning, men vi kom fram till att det är hit man ska åka om man vill handla (speciellt piratprodukter)
Detta hindutempel passades vi på att besöka
Det visade sig också vara något kulturevent i stan

Singapore Zoo

2006-08-12T23:37:00.000+08:00

Större delen av lördagen spenderades på Singapore Zoo. Där visade de upp djur från alla världens hörn samt vad som finns och fanns naturligt här i Singapore
Här hade de till exempel någon sorts apa som sprang runt fritt i parken
Och ett bevis på att jag var där (inget permanent inslag i djurparken)
I denna avdelning visade de upp regnskogsdjur. Dessutom så hade de allt från kräldjur och spindlar till isbjörn och tapir

Sentosa Island

2006-08-06T21:51:00.000+08:00

Söndagen innan skolan satt igång var det ett tillfälle för bleka utbytesstudenter att bättra på brännan
Och festa lite till

Utgång

2006-08-04T21:44:00.000+08:00

Efter att kollat in Ministry of Sound i onsdags blev det Staff Club på skolan
Sedan lite buss och taxi med Jan och Martin
Till Zouk

Köpdags

2006-08-03T21:35:00.000+08:00

Nu var det dags att skaffa lite prylar.
Tydligen görs inte affärer på samma sätt som hemma - "Monkey Business" - priset som sägs är alltså inte det som du sen ska betala, och du ska köpa mer för att få det du redan betalt för!
Det blev i alla fall en telefon till Tom, och varsitt PSP till mig och Philip

Lite mer på stan

2006-07-30T21:24:00.000+08:00

På väg ner i tunnelbanan.
Little India, med Philip och Jeff också

Elektronik

2006-07-29T21:30:00.000+08:00

Är det något som saknas så finns det lite olika ställen att införskaffa det

Någon som nischar sig på svenskar (läs skylten)

NTU

2006-07-29T21:20:00.000+08:00

Efter att vi vilat upp oss lite så fick vi (jag Lars och Viktor) ta en liten titt på skolan och omgivningarna.

Det regnar lite imellanåt, varför de flesta gångvägar är täckta av tak. De är ju ganska sköna när solen ligger på också.
MRT stationen närmst NTU, Boon Lay

Nedresan

2006-07-27T21:05:00.000+08:00

På väg ner till Singapore träffade jag på ett helt gäng med andra svenskar som skulle ner och plugga lite.

Vi flög mer finnair, med en mellanlandning i Bangkok.

Som tur var kom alla in i landet utan att få smaka på piskan (ja, spöstraff utdelas för vissa förseelser).