On this journey

Waiting. 

It'll be a while until I next find a place to talk about. I won't be going anywhere this weekend, nor will I go anywhere next weekend. I've got quite a bit of work to do. But in any case, all I can say is that life.. is a wait. In this journey, that's always a part of it. You wait for the train. You hop on the train. You wait until you reach your destination.  It's not rocket science. 

And so I'm waiting. 

On the train that is. 

I'm sorry for being cryptic, but maybe I'll let on next time. 

I'm Jet-lagged.

When I think about my life, from last July to this July, I have been to the following places:

Melbourne, Petaling Jaya/ Kuala Lumpur, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol, Rome, Warsaw, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Boston, New York (and soon Washington DC). 

Sometimes, after being away from home for so long, you can't help but listen to songs like these. 

Well, I don't really have anyone waiting for me, but in terms friends at least, we've been all been having those moments where it's been really difficult for us to talk and stuff like that because of the time zones. 

So in a non-romantic way, I dedicate this to some of my best friends and my family. I don't need to list them down. 

"I want to share your horizon and see the same sun rising". 

Crema Cafe

Introducing: A little place in Harvard Square where I go to to have my daily fix. I found this place by chance actually, mainly because the chain that I had been going to, Peet's, was closed for renovation. Peet's was quite good, wayyyyy better than Starbucks, but it wasn't just quite right. So although it caused me quite a bit of inconvenience to close for renovation, it helped me find Crema.

Crema is a delightful little place. It sells some cakes and other treats like muffins and cookies. It also has some quiches too. The ambience is a little dark, definitely not that conducive for people who came by to read, but it's good for chit-chat. A sign hung up on the second floor reminds customers to be polite enough to leave after an hour so that other customers will have seats to sit on when they come in.

The coffee is great, that much I would say. It is just the right strength (for me at least. Like I have mentioned before, I like it pretty strong). The only problem I would have is that it is pretty inconsistent in a peculiar way:

If you have your coffee in-house, it would come out great. And... If you didn't, and ordered take-away instead, it comes out pretty bad. My cafe latte comes out tasting like just hot milk. Strange, how it's supposed to have two shots of espresso. 

My conclusion?

Why, sit down and have a cup of coffee in the cafe of course!

And perhaps you'll get to meet some interesting characters too. I had a great conversation with this old man the other day about South East Asia and China. 

How about that for another great coffee place?

Harvard COOP: Musings

I was walking slowly down the well-lit aisle, browsing through books. The shelves, taller than myself, housed thousands and thousands of fiction titles. My hands were hovering above, "Thinkers", a new book that was just published recently, and had earned the Putlizer Prize for fiction in 2010. I was near the back of the store, where the back entrance was, that would take you to the second half of the Harvard COOP, which sold all the merchandise. 

I walk a few more steps, and I noticed this sign which said:

Looking for Harvard Insignia Gifts and Clothing? 

Go straight back and exit to the right. 

You will find the Insignia Department by using the Brattle or Palmer Street entrances of the Harvard COOP located in the building just across the street.

Just 3 seconds after I noticed it, two girls shouted, "Hey guys! We found out where to go!"

They read the sign out loud, then turned around, AND HEADED STRAIGHT BACK TO THE FRONT OF THE STORE. As they walked off in a hurry, I couldn't help but burst out in laughter. 

The sign had meant that they should walk straight, until they reached the back of the store (near where I was), and exit through the back entrance. 

I smiled in amusement and walked to the cashier. 

Summer School

I haven't gotten around to posting about it yet, but here I am, in Boston. I'm attending summer school in Harvard. Some people have asked me why I'm so willing to put myself through school and study during the summer, but hey, there's so many interesting things to learn! Learning is an adventure in itself.

So yes, I'm back to staying up late to finish assignments and with my cup of coffee. 

And I'm loving it. 

Wien

Wien, Austria. Or, should I say, Vienna, as it is more commonly known. This was our last stop during our epic Central Europe trip.

It would seem a little unkind to summarise all that we did in this place down to a few paragraphs, especially when I've elaborated quite a little on the previous places. The main reason for this was just simply because it happened quite some time ago and I've been busy doing things.. and thus not really having the time to come back here.

But in any case, I'll just make a list of the places I really enjoyed.

Haus der Musik:

House of Music. It has some really cool things in there, and there are free concerts too. You can even pretend to be a conductor (and there is a simulated orchestra that will actually move in tune with your conducting. hehe). Some floors were just weird. You'd have to go there and see what I mean. But it's a very nice experience nonetheless. :)

The Opera House:

Well, we didn't exactly watch the opera. It was a play. I'm not exactly sure why this was so, but we got to see it for free. Basically we think that it was because we happened to be there on a Friday. The Opera House would have a wide screen on the outside by the courtyard, and they'd lay mats out for people to sit on and some chairs as well. What we did was that we bought some Chicken Schnitzel, some crisps and some drinks and had a nice meal while watching it! Sure, it was all in German, but heck, we couldn't care anyway. We had fun. :)

Food!!!!!

Who doesn't love food?

When in Wien, go try some coffee. But the place you should go to for that (and some good cakes and some AWESOME asparagus soup!) would be DEMEL. :)

For the Chicken Schnitzel, go to this place called Figlmuller. It is cheap, and tastes fantastic. Reputed to be the best in Vienna, and I agree!

And last but not least, Cafe Sacher, for some brilliant Sacher Tots. :D

Some places to go, which might be a nice experience but I wasn't that fascinated by, was Mozarthaus (Mozart Museum) and the Imperial Guards Horse Practice.

Also, there is this really cool church. Now, most churches have stained glass. This church is a little different. It has coloured glass panels, and thus when the light shines it, it gives the church a trippy kind of feel. It becomes colourful! Weird, but cool.

I'm sorry to reduce Vienna to this, but my memory isn't that fantastic. All this is just based on pictures though.

Oh, and you should definitely pay for the walking tours to get a good overall view on Vienna.

Wien.. I love this city. Definitely one of my more favourite places in the world.