France - Provence - 2005/05/20 ~ 2005/05/24

After the final exam, Wendy, Chester and I went to Provence to enjoy the southern France. We stayed at Apartment Pont Royal en Provence and had a rental car. I found that most the cities in the south are more friendly and easy going. :)

5/20 Amsterdam --> Nice --> Cannes --> Mallemort --> Pont Royal

5/21 Pont Royal --> Mallemort --> Lambesc --> Aix --> Lambesc --> Pont Royal

5/22 Pont Royal --> Arles --> Les Baux --> Avignon --> Pont Royal

5/23 Pont Royal --> Gordes --> Abbaye de Senanque --> --> St' Remy --> Pont Royal

5/24 Pont Royal --> Nice --> Amsterdam

Photos at Cannes:
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/FranceCannes2005

Photos at Provence:
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/FranceProvence2005

Luxembourg - 2005/03/25 ~ 2005/03/28

After the midterm, I wanted to go somewhere natural with fresh air. Luxembourg looked like a good destination for a weekend.

On Friday when I arrived Luxembourg, I took the bus going north to Beaufort, a small town, directly. Although I spent some time to find my youth hostel because people didn't speak, I liked the friendly people over there.

On Saturday, I hiked in the forests, breathing the fresh air, forgetting MBA, and thinking of my family. In the afternoon, I rented a bicycle and cycled on the most tiring "Beaufort 4km". Although sometimes I had to "walk" the bicycle, it's definitely a payback on the downhill. :P

On the Sunday morning, when I was enjoying the easy morning with my breakfast, one guy kindly asked me "do you know that because of the daylight saving time, you should adjust forward one hour of your clock?" Because there are only two bus per day going back to the Luxembourg city center, one in the early morning and the other in the late afternoon, I knew I was in trouble. Since I missed the first bus, it meant that I will not only miss the chance to visit the city center, but also miss my train back to the Netherlands. At that moment I couldn't change the fact, so I still took my time to finish my easy breakfast. :) After that, getting some alternative suggestions from people, I started to walk to another town. Well, later I realized that I still couldn't make it on time, so the first time, and so far the only time in my life, I hitched a ride on the road. Of course, the ending was perfect, otherwise you won't see me today. :P

For photos of this trip, please refer to http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/Luxembourg2005

France - Ski Trip - 2005/02/11 ~ 2005/02/14

It's a ski trip at Alpe d'Huez, arranged by the class. I was excited because it's my first time to ski. At the beginning I couldn't get the feeling to control the skis at all. However after the instruction by a colleague and the one-day practice, I could ski all the way down the hill with high speed on the second day! Learning from the experience, I realized that knowing how to fall is extremely important. On the first day I fell twice with the skis crossed, and was lucky that I didn't get injured. Later when I got better skill, I could fall with safer positions and even enjoy lying on the snows. :P

At night we took a walk in the town, went to the bars, or stayed at the apartment to eat, talk, drink, and etc. We had great time and enjoyed the snow so much.

It would be fun to go ski again and learn to be skillful!

There are photos of this trip at
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/FranceAlpeDHuezSkiTrip2005.

Portugal - 2004/12/30 ~ 2005/01/03

After the trip in Spain during Christmas, Elissa and I took a train from Madrid to Lisbon on December 30th. On the New Year's Eve, we counted down with a group of people from Germany, Spain, and Italy. It's the most international New Year's Eve I ever had. :)

Photos are available at
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/PortugalLisbon2004

Spain - 2004/12/20 ~ 2004/12/30

For the Christmas holiday, Elissa, Jenny, Daniel and I decided to go to Barcelona. After that, Elissa and I kept going south and had New Year's Eve in Portugal.


2004/12/20 ~ 2004/12/26 Barcelona
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/SpainBarcelona2004
2004/12/26 ~ 2004/12/28 Sevilla
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/SpainSevilla2004
2004/12/28 ~ 2004/12/29 Granada
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/SpainGranada2004
2004/12/29 ~ 2004/12/30 Malaga
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/SpainMalaga2004
2004/12/30 Madrid
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/SpainMadrid2004

Belgium - 2004/11/26 ~ 2004/11/28

The first weekend after midterm, I went to Brugge with few colleagues and then visited Brussel by myself. However, when I walked on the street at Brussel, I met another group of colleagues. It's a small world, isn't it?

Brugge http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/BelgiumBrugge20042008
Brussel http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/BelgiumBrussel2004

Germany - 2004/09/23 ~ 2004/10/02

It's the first trip I had before the MBA courses started in Europe. Carrying my backpack, I took the train from Rotterdam. All the way I stayed in the youth hostels to meet people and experience the new culture and country. By the way, I was lucky to visit Munich by chance when they celebrated Oktoberfest. :P

9/23 ~ 9/25 Berlin (http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/GermanyBerlin2004)
9/25 ~ 9/27 Dresden (http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/GermanyDresden2004)
9/27 ~ 9/30 Munich (http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/GermanyMunich20040927)
9/30 ~ 10/1 Rothenburg (http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/GermanyRothenberg2004)
10/1 ~ 10/2 Heidelberg (http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/GermanyHeidelberg2004
10/2 Cologne (http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/GermanyCologne2004)

Netherlands - Rotterdam - 2004 ~ 2006

There are lots memories at Rotterdam... the MBA student life, the Erasmus Bridge, the Blaak Market, the RSM Boat Trip, the Delft Hydraulics Boat Trip, the football game, Pavarotti's farewell concert, the summer festival, the farewell BBQ, the graduation ceremony, the Chinese New Year Party, the countless parties/gatherings, and etc. It will require lots of time to record it. Only a small part of the photos are available at http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/NetherlandsRotterdam2004200702. If I have time, I will try to put more of my memories online someday. :)

Of course, Kinderdijn is one of the typical Dutch spot for tourists.
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/NetherlandsKinderdijn20042007

Indonesia - Bali - 2004/02/18-2004/03/05

19 days in Bali
1) 5 days with Maggie, Wing, and Rice to experience luxury(but not really expensive) Bali by living in a villa, eating in nice restaurants, enjoying SPA, and etc.
2) 1 week with my brother Shelby to experience exciting Bali, such as waking up at 2AM, starting to climb a volcano at 4AM, seeing the sunrise at 6AM.
3) 1 week by myself to experience the local lives in Bali by visiting local villages/houses, playing rattan football (it hurt) and canoing with local people, and etc.

For photos of this trip, please check http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/IndonesiaBali2004

Hotels
Biyukukung Suites and Spa
Kharista Nature Villas
Flora Beach Hotel
Yulia Village Inn
Bungalow under the volcano 3
Lastri House
Swastika Bungalows

Restaurants
Miro's Garden Restaurant
Mentari Restaurant
Cafe Wayan & Bakery
La Lucciola
Kuta Plaza Restaurant
Bebek Bali Cafe
ADI ASRI Restaurant
Bali Pesto Cafe
LAMAK
Ibu Rai Restaurant
Cafe Lotus

SPA
Spa Hati
Natalie SPA
Verona Esthetic Salon & Body Spa

Tour Service
I Made Budiana (Tour driver)
Damasus Supardi (Tour organizer) (damasuss@yahoo.com)
Komang Ngit's (ngit_75@yahoo.com)

Horse Riding
CM Stable (qungtoko@eksadata.com)

Places visited
Taman Ayun Temple
Bratan Temple (Lake Bratan, Bedugul)
Puri Saren
Ubud
Pura Tanah Lot
Kuta
Jim Baran
Pura Luhur Uluwatu
Dempasar Bali Museum
Pura Jagatnatha
Taman Puputan Square
Batuan, Pura Puseh
Elephant Cave
Sanur

Australia - 2002/09/30 ~ 2002/10/13

I took two weeks off on September and October, year 2002. Honestly I chosen Australia as the destination was because I needed at least one month for Europe. Beyond my expectations, I love Australia, with charming pace. Life should be like that. Notheing is big deal, but rule is still existed. It's definitely a paradise especially for vacation or retirement.

This time I visited three cities, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, and went horse riding and bridge climbing. Next time I hope I could visit Tasmania, Great Barrier Reef Islands, Cairns, or any other spots, and I hope I could learn diving or skydiving. There are so many places waiting for exploration.

9/30 ~ 10/04 Melbuorne
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/AustraliaMelbuorne2002

10/05 ~ 10/08 Sydney
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/AustraliaSydney2002

10/08 ~ 10/13 Brisbane
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/AustraliaBrisbane2002