EUROPE TRIP - IBIZA 07

Ibiza! Yeahhhh... I am so excited.. We reached our hotel/apartment at night and the receptionist there was really friendly and he could even speak mandarin. Ibiza is a party and beach heaven but too bad we were short of cash and decided to spend the money on parties only and did not manage to visit the nice beaches. If you wanna go Ibiza, prepare to spend like there is no tomorrow because everynight, best clubs or dj starts from 50 euro. In total we were there for 4 days hence we spent about 125 euros just on clubs entries. (not including taxi to and fro)

PIX: Maps, tickets of clubs that we went, hotel name card, our apartment, me trying to act like a crazy women right after having a nice shower finally...

PIX: 2nd Day at Ibiza, met up with my friends from amsterdam and singapore, On our way from hotel to the streets near M bar.

PIX: Night time at Ibiza, me going shopping, sandman with his weed :P, pussy foot,

**All clubs tickets are sold at Bars. Usually there will be a blackboard stand outside showing the list of clubs and the cost. Clubs with good DJS are about 50euro and the rest of the clubs will be 40, 30 and 25 euros. They would also inform you where to get the bus to the clubs if you want to save money on the cabs.

PIX: AMNESIA

**Great place to party but 1st night when we were there, they told us that no cameras are allow. So we did'nt manage to take any pictures... But later at night, we understand why they did not allow that.. it was because, they have their own photographer taking your photos and giving you a ticket with a number where you have to collect the next day and pay about 10 to 20 euro per picture. Anyway it was way too expensive just for a picture, so next day we decided to sneak in with our camera as Paul van dyk was playing!

PIX: CAFE DEL MAR having Sangria!

** Cafe del mar does not accept reservation, so for those who wanna catch the sunset, pls be prepared to go before 4pm during summer. The dissappointing part of Cafe del Mar was that it used to be a place where people just chill out on the beach instead of tables and chairs.

Below is a picture of how Cafe del Mar was like back in the days..

PIX: Best sunset ever only at CAFE DEL MAR IBIZA.

After watching the sunset at Cafe Del Mar, we went to Privilege (world's biggest club) but it was gay night hence they were playing gay house. But still, i would say that it is a club worth going. For pictures, pls see http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ibiza-Spain/PRIVILEGE-IBIZA-OFFICIAL/46671369348?v=wall

PIX: Chilling out by the pool and having lunch with my pals, Ibiza airport, having a smoke break,

We were lucky and got to catch the fireworks at IBIZA.

EUROPE TRIP - LISBOA PORTUGAL 07 -FREEDOM FESTIVAL

FREEDOM FESTIVAL 2007 - LISBOA PORTUGAL

AUG 16 TO 20TH 2007 5days of non stop psychedelic trance dance party by the lake. 1st psytrance party we went to in Europe. It was AWESOME!!! Imagine... party by the nature with friendly folks and even kids. What more can we ask for?

Lesson that i learned from this trip is... we should study well where the party is located before booking a hostel/hotel because this was our first time to such parties and we weren't prepared for any camping and thot staying in a hostel would be just fine. But little did we know.. actually the party is far far away from lisboa town. During august, portugal was having some public holiday and the streets were really empty.. empty streets and shops are all closed...

Finally, we decided to abandon all our stuff, took our handbag and head for the airport to ask for help so that we can get to Freedom festival. The airport customer service was really helpful and directed us to the bus interchange where we took a bus to the party location.

PIX: Freedom festival 2007

PIX: MAP and bus ticket, freedom festival handband, me in lisboa town, little town located 20mins away from the party.

**the only way to the party from this little town was to take taxi or either you hook up with some local party goers so that they could give you a ride. This town is deserted and quiet as well.
PIX: 1st night at Freedom festival, chill out zone

PIX: Lighting and decos, me sitting there waiting for my coffee (pls note that there are no coffee with milk at the parties. Just espresso). During night time, the weather is really really cold and we did not bring any clothes with us at all and were freezing our asses off.
PIX: Friends that we met at the party, me and mabel finally got to buy the cheapest "sweater" that we found which cost about euro 20, me sleeping in the chill out area.

**Nunu our dear friend was really sweet by offering us their tent to bunk in the 2nd day but by then we already got a hotel room about 15mins away from the party location.

PIX: OLIVETREEDANCE my fav at the live performance tent. Pls visit http://www.myspace.com/olivetreedance

VIDEOS: olivetreedance 1, olivetreedance 2

PIX: Freedom festival in the day, mmm.. my lunch (chicken, chips and rice), kids and some folks sitting by the hammock which mabel had set up, look at how clean the party place is.

**What i love about Freedom Festival, unlike our singapore zoukout, all party goers are people who don't just dump their trash everywhere they go. During the 2nd day when i just woke up, i could see party goers going around picking up trash and putting it into the correct recycle bins. How nice is that?

PIX: Day time party at the main tent, can you spot me?

PIX: Sunset at Freedom Festival. Beauuuttifulll!

PIX: Last night at Freedom festival, my sloshed face after a few days of partying!

EUROPE TRIP - MADRID 07

MADRID - A place that i would never ever forget. Why??? It's because my handbag with all my stuff (camera, mp3 player, money, ID, passport, handphone etc...) was stolen at MCDONALDS. Imagine that! But still, i would recommend people who love shopping and clubbing to visit madrid. But pls beware of pick pockets...

But coming to think of it, i was too careless as well. So folks, always remember to sling your handbag and look after your belongings as the pick pockets are really really skillful and they come in groups. How mine got stolen? Oh well... we were having lunch at Mcdonalds and we choose to sit facing the streets directly. 2 women and a guy (who look like some tourist) walk into Mcdonalds acting as if they were looking for seats. A lady came infront of us, bend down, took some card "out" (as if she picked up from the floor) and asked if this card belongs to us. As we couldn't see clearly hence we stood up and took a look at the card... But little did we know.. the guy and the other woman behind us grab my bag and walk out immediately and the lady infront of us just walk out of Mcdonalds once we said that the card doesn't belong to us... and guess what.. i only found out that my handbag was missing when i had finished my meal and wanted to go out for a smoke! How silly was that?

Lesson learned! And the saddest part was not about the money.. its about the pictures that i took in amsterdam, london, seville, barcelona and 1st day when i touched down at madrid... memories all deleted...

**MUST!

1) Do register yourself with the ambassy in europe informing them your details and itinerary. 2) If you are travelling more than 2weeks, pls get a travel insurance. **remember to keep all the receipts of camera, handphone, mp3 player etc.. because you need all these as a proof when submitting a claim to the insurance company. My claim took about 6months just for everyone info.

3) Keep your ID at home!

4) Email yourself a copy of your ID or passport so that you can proof where you are from and you need that for making a temporary pass back to your country

5) Pls REMEMBER that during summer, most of the consulate and ambassy are CLOSE! I was really lucky!

** last but not least, never give up and spoil your trip because I went around asking and got to know that even you do not have a passport, you could still travel within europe with the police report :P so ... that's how i continue to my parties at Portugal and Ibiza! Negativity brings nothing!

PIX: Reflection of us chilling downstairs our hostel, streets in madrid

PIX: check out the colourful stunning flowers behind me, statue of a man chilling by the street, wonder what the police man was thinking right there, beautiful angle

PIX: Palacio de Gaviria - We did went Pacha but they only starts at about 2am and we were way too early.. so we went to the so called "gay street" and had some kebab!! It was really yummy! Later in the evening, we got to find out PALACIO DE GAVIRIA from the guy at the hostel and decided to go there instead. It was really beautiful! Historical place comes to life at night in MADRID. 3 rooms playing different sounds from RNB, 80s to trance and house.. A great place to boogie away your night away with sexy male and female dancers on the stage.

PIX: ALMUDENA CATHEDRAL - 3D effect gates to the beautiful church, Outside Almudena.

PIX: PALACIO REAL DE MADRID (Royal palace of Madrid) This is the official residence of the King of Spain in the city of Madrid.

**No photo taking allow in the palace.

PIX: ME, me , me!!! Having fun at the palace.
PIX: Having dinner with some friends that we just met who were staying in the same hostel.

PIX: Back from portugal to madrid to get my temporary documents (back to singapore) done.

Check out the tapas we had! scrambled eggs with cheese and potatos were my favorite.

PIX: oops!! caught me shopping.. I LOVE H&M!!! Mabel having Starbucks by the busy street, Unique building that we came across while shopping,

EUROPE TRIP - SEVILLE 07

SEVILLE located left side of SPAIN is a little city full of culture and dance.

We took a train from Barcelona to Seville which cost about SGD 150 per person. On our way to Seville, all you will see is empty plot of lands and cute little plants and trees planted in rows.

On our way there, it makes me wonder whether the trees are grown naturally in rows or did someone really planted all the trees one by one...

In Seville, be prepared to walk around the city instead of taking a bus or you will miss out the hidden beauty of it. Weather there is really really hot during summer, the best and cheapest way to satisfy your throat is the ice stick which cost about a few cents.

PIX: TRAIN that we took

from Barcelona, Houses on our way to Seville, Hostel that we stayed, View from our balcony.

** Surprisingly the hostel there is really clean but it was really embarrassing when we check in late about after midnight. Because the door was locked for security reasons and we have to wake the poor guy up to open the door for us.

PIX: Streets picture that we took while exploring seville by foot. Every where you go, you will see Mary, Jesus and of cos, some graffiti by the back streets.

PIX: Catedral de Sevilla (Seville Cathedral) - Outside Seville Cathedral.

**Outside Seville Cathedral you will get to see a really beautiful fountain. There are also horse rides which you need to pay and because of those horses, the place smells abit Icky.

PIX: Me having Yummy churros with thick hot chocolate, Seville palace.. but we didn't went in, more street photos..

PIX: Plaza de Espana, old map of Seville, Huge fountain infront of Plaza de Espana, little details on the bridge, the entire building is build with small little details that shows the history of spain.

**Recommended!

PIX: We met a local who is working at the flamenco gallery and he directed us to this hotel with a open garden concept where we can get the best view of GIRALDA. He told us that even some of the locals do not know this hotel. Sorry guys, i would like to share with you the name of the hotel, but i had forgotten the name :(

PIX: Bells and bells ( But get ready to climb up), View at the top, maps, tickets to flamenco dance performance, tickets to flamenco galleryPIX: FLAMENCO gallery - Both of us trying to pose like flamenco dancers, My shadow, Mabel trying to act like she is the painter hehe..., the painting i love most in the gallery

CASA DELA MEMORIA DE AL-ANDALUS best place for acoustic flamenco performance.

**Recommended!

Pls remember to get the tickets earlier because we only got to find this place around 4 plus in the evening and all tickets were sold out. We were on the waiting list but we have to be there around 7pm before the show starts and check with the counter again whether there are any tickets for us as this place only holds 90 spectators.

PIX: couple doing the flamenco dance, the guy clapping giving the beat and he too plays the guitar.

PLAZA DE TOROS DE LA MAESTRAZA - FAMOUS BULLRING IN SEVILLE

We went there and too bad there was no bull fight that day but we manage to go in for a tour. Pictures shown below are grabs from the internet because my camera and entire bag was stolen in madrid.

EUROPE TRIP - BARCELONA 07

Barcelona - One of my Fav place so far. It is a really nice place full of art and culture. Best place that i have even been so far and it was really nice to just walk down by the street during the evenings especially during summer. What we did in barcelona was that we bought the 3 day past which was more cost savings and live in a hostel somewhere near the city. Picture tells a thousand words so.. am not gonna say much and just let you decide whether you would love to go there.

PIX: Me in the hostel cooking our maggie noodles before going out exploring the city.

Casa Batllo by Gaudi.

PIX: Am sorry i can't remember the name of the place but this is a place where u could take a stroll and see little stalls by the bridge selling sunglasses and some other small little items. It was raining heavily as you can see from the picture and we were stuck in a place and did not know how to get back to the hostel. Funny thing was that we met some guys from india working in Barcelona and one of them ran out to the middle of the road in the heavy rain and just dance. It was fun and that's the picture of that moment captured when i was laughing.

We were kinda lost and did not know which bus to take, in the end we just hop on any bus and drop at some bus stop where alot of people were alighting. Worst thing was, i was trying to run from the bus stop to the hotel nearby and fell.. a group of young chaps just turn around and laugh at me sad..but it was a really memorable day for me thou.
PIX: love the first picture cos it kind of reflects child like drawing and when i see that, it reminds me of children innocence. Massive big map of barcelona. Some tickets that we had bought for sight seeing.
PIX: FONT MAGICA or magic fountain as they call it. We wanted to watch the magic fountain but too bad they have "rest" day too and we did not manage to see any fountain show at all. In the end we just sit by the fountain and had a coffee. Do remember to check the time slots before going!
PIX: SAGRADA FAMILIA the unfinished church (started by Antoni gaudi) which took more than 40years and they are still building. This church is split into old architecture and new architecture. The pictures below is showing the new architecture.

PIX: Inside Sagrada familia. Check out the special pillars that are holding the church.
PIX: OLD architecture of Sagrada familia.
PIX: PARK GUELL by antonio gaudi. This was on our way up to park guell. It was abit of a climb but not to worry because on the way up, there are people selling drinks and It was WORTH the climb once you get to see the entire city.

PIX: Finally we had reach the main part of Park guell. the entire place was filled and made with multi- coloured tiled mosaic. People who love mosaic, will definitely love this place alot. Just like me.

The vibrant coloured tiles were just truly breathtaking and amazingly beautiful when put together. Some local guy playing guitar by the stairs and selling his cd. Me trying to be funny by climbing up and sitting on the stone. For those that watch america's next top model, YES this was the place where the models did their catwalk in the tunnel. Amazing isn't it?

PIX: Entrance to park guell. We saw a group of travellers taking their own picture from the ground so that they could capture their face as well as the beautiful artwork on the ceiling.. and so .. monkey see monkey do! The house look like a ginger bread house to me.. mmm yummy..

PIX: This is the place where Gaudi lives when he was building this park. We didn't went in cos you need tickets inorder get in and we were on a budget. So we enjoyed the place just by chilling outside the house it was good enough. Love the tree bark. Check out the fat cat taking a nap in the warm sun.
PIX: TIBIDABO. The highest mountain where you could go up via the blue tram. On top of it, you will get to see a church as well as a little children theme park. Amazing and an unforgettable thing was, i do not know why but every church that i visit in europe, i wanted to just go in and pray to GOD. When i went into this church, the priest was looking at me in a weird way when i wanted to go into the prayer room. He stopped and ask me not to go in to take photos since i look and was a tourist. But when i told him that i was only intending to pray, a smile broke out from his stern face and he was really happy to hear that and invited me to go ahead.
PIX: Inside of the church on top of TIBIDABO.
PIX: Children theme park on top of TIBIDABO.