2008/10/29

零度 Zero degree

儀表板顯示 零度
聽著 Katie Melua 的 Piece by Piece 專輯
括除 車窗上結冰的霜
冬天 巧巧到來
短羽絨衣下 短袖一件
竟不覺得冷
草坪上 覆蓋薄薄一片雪白冰霜
心裡想著 是否會錯過今年的第一場雪

(Cursory Translation)
Zero degree
It was shown on the appearance of bearing in the car
Listened Katie Melua's Piece by Piece
Scratched the frozen frost off the windscreen
Winter was coming tranquilly
Under the down coat
only one shirt
But didn't feel cold
Snow-white frost put a cover over the grass
Wondered
whether I would miss the first snow this year

2008/10/23

New Single "Don't Believe in Love" by Dido

[ Don't believe in Love ] by Dido

I wanna go to bed with arms around me
But wake up on my own
Pretend that I’m still sleeping
Til’ you go home

Oh I can’t look at you this morning
I should probably have a sign
That says ‘Leave right now or quicker’
You’ve overstayed your time

If I don’t believe in love nothing will last for me
If I don’t believe in love nothing is safe for me
When I don’t believe in love you’re too close to me
And that’s why you have to leave

Maybe I slept peaceful on your shoulder
Your arm warm around my side
But it’s different now, it’s morning
And I can’t face your smile

The second that I feel your safe hands
Reaching out for mine
I slip away and out of sight
You’ve overstayed your time

If I don’t believe in love nothing is good for me
If I don’t believe in love nothing will last for me
When I don’t believe in love nothing is new for me
Nothing is wrong for me
And nothing is real for me

When I don’t believe in love why do you care for me?
When I don’t believe in love nothing is real for me
If I don’t believe in love you’re getting to close to me
And that’s why you have to leave
And that’s why you have to leave

If I don’t believe in love
If I don’t believe in love
If I don’t believe in love
Nothing is left for me
If I don’t believe in love
You’re too good for me

2008/10/12

Germany - Ibbenbüren - Outdoor climbing - 2008/10/12

With few friends, we went for an outdoor climbing. It's my second time for this sport, but I was doing ok. :P Since Fede is the expert, I was not worried. It's fun to see how the experts climbed up the rocks with beautiful movements, while I saw no way to get up to those places.

According to the GPS, the place we went to is at

L591 Brochterbecker Straße
49479 Ibbenbüren
Germany

There was one place which we went first. However because of the moss and humidity, it was too slippy to climb. Maybe next time...

K24 Im Bocketal
49545 Tecklenburg
Germany

Since I bought the climbing shoes, I planned to go for indoor climbing every week during this business trip in NL! :)

2008/10/05

Netherlands - Landgraaf - Ski - 2008/10/05

SnowWorld is located at Landgraaf, close to Masstricht. There are multiple facilities, but we only went for skiing. For slope entrance, it costs 35 euros for 4 hours, but only 37.5 euros for 8 hours. When you leave the slope for a drink, food, and etc., the clock stops clicking.

Since I didn't bring my ski trousers with me to NL this time, I wore three layers of trousers instead. The socks, the gloves, and the hat were borrowed as well. Thanks for the owner. :) When we felt cold or my fingers/toes were frozen, we just went to the bar for a snack or hot chocolate. We stayed in SnowWorld around 7 hours, skiing for around 5 hours in total. It's my second time to ski, and I still enjoyed it a lot. Maybe next time I should take a lesson to learn the technics better.

Note. My first ski trip is shortly recorded at another blog article.

2008/09/29

Netherlands - Vlieland - Camping - 2008/09/27~2008/09/29

Lying in the Wadden Sea, Vlieland is the second island of the chain of islands in the North Sea of the Dutch coast, counting from west to east. It took two hours from Harlingen to Vlieland. We arrived Vlieland at around 4PM.

After finding a good spot for camping and setting up our tents, the guys cooked an amazing delicious dinner. We ate, talked, drank, and enjoyed the incredible sunset. Since it was cold, I actually drank quite a few Vodka to keep myself warm, but didn't feel drunk.

On the way to Vlieland, two DJ's invited us to join a company party. To find the party place, we walked around one hour on the island at night. It was an interesting and successful party with people dressing up in black and white back to old times. Walking back to the camp site Stortemelk at 4 o'clock in the morning, with the stars, the fresh air, and the gloomy street lights, I felt such a tranquil life. It's a strange feeling right after a crowded party.

Since Vlieland is the second-least densely populated municipality in the Netherlands and it's almost the end of the season, it's not crowded at all and the pace is very slow. The only village on the entire island, Oost-Vlieland, is tiny but lovely.

We cycled around the island, crossing the dunes, the bushes, and the meadows. Watching the ocean, walking on the beaches, eating natural cranberry, and etc., I wondered what else would be important in lives. :P

On Sunday evening, we had a nice dinner at a restaurant, played pool, and went to bed early. Waking up with the sound of the rain and the cold on Monday morning, I thought of the regular business meeting with my boss which supposed to be happened at that time. ha ha... the island is for sure much better than the cold office. :P

The guys went for surfing in the early morning, but I took it easy and walked along the coast. Later we had a brunch and more cycling. It's a pity that we couldn't have horse riding because the business was too relax to have it without a reservation. Actually I like the answer "The coach went to the supermarket as planned so can't take the case." The priority is nice.

2008/09/17

Netherlands - Eindhoven - Moving to a new apartment - 2008/09/17

Being sick of the hotel feeling at my nice Sofitel apartment, I asked to move to another apartment for a homely feeling. The new apartment is not as big as Sofitel apartment, but I really like the wooden floor/tables/chairs, the balcony, the decoration, and etc. I love it!

2008/09/13

Germany - Mainz & Frankfurt- 2008/09/13

To deliver the DVD writer for Dany, I visited my RSM colleague Jenny at Mainz. It's a nice and easy weekend. Taking a walk in Mainz was relaxing. Due to my exchange to UT Austin during MBA study, I actually hadn't caught up well with Jenny for a long time. Therefore I like and appreciate this weekend very much.

We went to a bar for a drink after dinner. I think this bar could be my favorite bar so far. First of all, it was a church with relatively huge space. Sitting on the couch with the high ceiling, I felt extremely comfortable. Secondly, since Jenny is a wine expert, we got a nice white wine. I love the cozy feeling over there.

Drinking at the balcony, looking at the full moon, smoking cigar, chatting with friends, somehow we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival while we are far away from home. On Sunday, after the great breakfast, taking four bottles of nice wine from Jenny, we were on the way back to NL. Thanks for Jenny and Patrick's hospitality!

On the way back to Eindhoven, we visited Frankfurt. The city itself is OK. Walking along the river in a sunny day surprisingly made me to like a big city like Frankfurt a bit. :)

2008/09/07

Belgium - Camping & Kayaking - 2008/09/06 ~ 2008/09/07

Before this camping, I only camped twice before. My first camping was supposed to be cool while I studied in the junior high school. However because an accident happened in another school's camping trip, the trip was executed in the campus at the end. It's fun to sleep in the tent with friends, but in the campus... well... it's not exciting at all... :P The second time I slept in a tent was when I climbed the Jade Mountain. With small rocks under my back on a slop, I couldn't fall into sleep at all. However we couldn't sleep long because we needed to wake up early for the sunrise anyway.

This trip, my third camping trip, with two friends in Belgium was really nice and comfortable in the camp site Le Val de L'Aisne. We even had a bed in the tent. At night, someone played really fine fireworks and it was like a personal show in the sky with stars in the back. How lucky we were!

Next day we went for a 18km kayaking. Once I felt that I could somehow control the kayak, I started enjoying the view and the people along the river. Somewhere in the 18km, when we stuck by the rocks, we took the chance to take out our bread, chocolate jam, cookies, fruit, and etc. to ha ha... that was nice. Although at the end I got a bubble on my hand, I felt very exciting and relaxing.


On the way back to the Netherlands, we had dinner at Belgium. I was surprised at the relatively low price of having such nice food and atmosphere. Maybe I stayed at NL too long... :P
Ristorante - Pizzeria J Giardini
Rue d'Amay 10
4000 Liege
Tel: 04 222 03 64

2008/08/17

Netherlands - Eindhoven - Business trip - 2008/08/17 ~ 2008/11

I am back to the Netherlands again for a project. In total this year I would have stayed at the Netherlands for half a year. Knowing the people and the culture a bit, somehow it has become my second home country I think. :)

This time I stayed at the apartment of Sofitel Hotels & Resorts. It's great even with two bedrooms, but I am looking forward to moving to a more homely apartment.

2008/08/06

Thailand - Bangkok 2008/07/31 ~ 2008/08/06

I never thought of staying at Bangkok for up to 7 days, but I did stay at Bangkok for 7 days. :)
Actually it's a family trip which is arranged to spend time with my 86-years-old grandpa, my parents, and my brother. We all love traveling, but never traveled together. We took it easy to explore and experience the city.

Siam Naramit is a Thai culture show. The theater was built only for this show, within a culture park around. Before and after the show, people could watch Thai dancing, ride an elephant, take a look of traditional Thai house, taste traditional Thai desert, and etc. in the park.

Sky Bar at the Dome at the State Tower is really cool! Having a drink at the outdoor bar on the top the tower is definitely a special event. The atmosphere is kind of modern but relaxing.

Well, local lives on the streets are always my favorite sightseeing spots. :)

Bodytune is a nice shop for massage. Two hours Thai massage costs only 590 Baht with relatively nice atmosphere.

Naraya is a famous shop for Thai bag. If buying a suvinor is a must, the Naraya bags could be considered.

Dusit Thani Hotel is very fine, but I remain neutral on the recommendation.

For more photos, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/ThailandBangkok2008#

Note. There are some Information recommended by friends, but I didn't use this time...
Resort http://www.sunsetvillage.co.th
Local agent 余美芳 +66873247332