Broga Hill

Going on a journey?

How does going to Broga sound?

Being back home feels really good. And one of the first few things I did (besides eating all that food!) is to go trekking with a good friend of mine. We went to Broga Hill at Semenyih.

We left the house really early hoping to see the sunrise (thus, preparing to trek in the dark). The funny part was that we got lost on the way to the hill itself, and ended up driving around quite aimlessly. The GPS that we had didn't help much. Lol. When we finally got there, the sun had actually risen quite a bit. There goes the 'watching the sunrise' plan. But we continued on anyway. :)

There were so many people going up, there were times when we actually had to form a line as we went up the hill. It's kinda funny. Like a pilgrimage of sorts.

And when you get to the top, you'll see lots of people just chilling and hanging out and talking. Like the people below.

I suppose that if you want to come up here to pray and meditate, that might possibly be a good idea as well. But then again, if it's just for fun, to pose for the camera, you might want to watch out for people like me with a camera. You might just be caught doing something rather funny. ^_^

Anyway, the view from up there is really nice. There is a lot of open space, and the sights that you see would not be obstructed by tall trees. In fact, the hill is actually nick-named 'Bukit Lalang', which is Malay for 'Thatch Hill'. It'll be good for photography buffs who want to take some good shots as well. The trek to the top isn't that bad. It's quite easy actually. A beginner's hill. And even at the slightly more challenging parts (challenging for beginners that is), there are ropes and stuff to help you go up and down. 

So when you get to the peak... What a sight you'll see!

Looking through the thatches, on the way up. 

Some scene from a movie of a lonely hill top maybe?

So yes. Broga Hill. One of the small pleasures of my country. Bigger trekking/hiking buffs would go for Gunung Kinabalu or Gunung Tahan. But for a weekend trip? this would be good for the soul. Kudos to Eu Jhin who brought me here on a lazy Sunday morning (dragging me out of bed! D:)

T'was really good though. 

Singapore!

Had a whirlwind trip to Singapore!

Was there for an internship at a law firm. Valuable experience, I must add. But definitely not the focus of this post. 

The picture above is at Marina Bay Sands, taken on the Helix bridge. Yeah, it's a really cool bridge which was meant to look like a double helix strand of our DNA (complete with the protein molecules, I must add). I was there with my friend Zhi Wei and her family for her birthday. We were there to catch the light show. Apparently it takes place twice a night during weekdays and three times on the weekends. We went for the 930 show. 

It's pretty cool. Lots of lights, bubbles and music. Instead of using a screen for their show, they use water sprays and lights. Cool concept. And of course, it's to be expected that everything is a Singaporean production, including the singers featured. 

And we had a gathering at her place too. Hehe. 

Had a great time. :) 

More on Singapore in a bit. 

The HighLine

In the last post I was talking about visiting the High Line in New York, and indeed, that's a very nice place to visit (and you should!). The only problem with that place is that there are no actual restaurants at the place itself, so it'd do you some good to eat before you go. There is a coffee stall (which I will talk about later), and an ice cream stall and one mini cafe that just sells cakes and sandwiches, but nothing substantial. 

We went to this Diner which is really close to the HighLine. I do recommend this place. It's really good, the portions are big, and the service is great too. The waiters are really friendly, and it's a A-listed restaurant. 

I promise you that this place, Star on 18, won't let you down. 

Now, the other thing that we did when we walked down the Highline was to stop by at the coffee stall. The name of the stall is Blue Bottle Coffee. Yes, it's the same one brewing at Brooklyn!

Their hot chocolate is really unique. It seems like you can really taste the dark chocolate (so in that manner, it's slightly bitter). It's not exactly very thick, but the consistency is just about right. It has right amount of milk, and just a whole mouthful of sinful melted chocolate. Sounds good no? 

Also, another thing which I find pretty funny about the American coffee places is that you usually have to ask for a double shot of espresso. I guess I'm too used to the ones in the UK. In that same manner, I keep forgetting to order double shots! And thus my coffee has less of a kick. Shame, because I can tell that the coffee is brewed really well. That's my fault. 

Ahhh.. Food and beverages. Who doesn't live for them? It should only be right that we live to eat and not eat to live. 

New York

And so I was in New York!

Some say that it is the city of...

It can also be a great place to chill out. Take Central Park for example. We also caught Shakespeare in the Park (T'was a bit strange though. We caught "All's Well That End's Well". So British, yet, spoken with the American twang. :S )

And you don't even have to travel all the way to Central Park. You could go to the Highline. Pretty place. It's a suspended park, built where there used to be suspended train tracks. Places to sit and chill, some nice ice-cream shops and a coffee cart and a restaurant (the restaurant is not really worth it though, if you ask me). Flowers blooming, butterflies flying. :)

New York is also the place where immigrants used to arrive with the hopes of a new and fresh start. Arriving in a boat from places far away to cry at the promise of freedom and democracy.

And for the artsy kids too. There's really something for everyone. This picture below is of the MOMA. 

And there are lots of other things to do too! The Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Natural History, the Met.

There's the Meatpacking District. Greenwich Village with all the quaint little coffee shops and some nice bars and pubs around, Washington Square, Flushing. 

And for the shoppers? Macy's, Bloomingdale, 5th Avenue (the list goes on!)

(My favourite place was Greenwich Village). I didn't really get to roam around Brooklyn and Queens though. 

More about some New York shops later. There's a good coffee place and a good diner that I want to talk about. But as this is a post on New York, I'd like to sum it up. 

New York is a great place. Lots of things to do. Lots of sights to see. But when I listen to the song 'Empire State of Mind', where it goes:

"New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of"

And I can't help but think that there definitely is a charm to this big ol' city. 

But it's hardly a place where my dreams are made of. 

For me it's London. I just feel that there is no way that this American city can compare to Little Britain. It's the only place I want to be right now.

Can't wait to get back. 

Speedy

And so, 2 weeks ago we had a whirlwind trip to Washington DC (our hearts go out to those affected by Hurricane Irene).

A friend once told me that the city was one of the highlights of the east coast, the other two basically being Boston and New York. But to be honest, there is nothing much here. 

Well, you have the White House, lots of memorials and museums... but nothing much basically. Just a day trip kinda place. 

Although I do get bored with memorials, I think it's great how they put them all in one area. So you can sort of complete all of them in one sweep, and feel like you've done a lot for the day. 

Some places to go to:

- the memorial area (Jefferson, Lincoln, Vietnam War, Korean War, etc)

- the air and space museum

- ** The NEWSEUM! :D Best highlight of the state if you ask me. 

- Capitol Hill (really pretty)

- The White House (just to take a picture of it to say that you've been there. If it wasn't the administrative building of the country I wouldn't even have bothered visiting!)

Darwin's Ltd.

There are actually two of these places in Cambridge, MA. I happen to go to the one on Cambridge Street (and that's the one I'm posting about!). 

Darwin's Ltd. is a splendid little place. It's pretty spacious, almost always buzzing with life. They serve excellent sandwiches. It's rather cute too, how they name the sandwiches after the local street names around the shop. It would be for that reason that some people might find that their favourite sandwich has different names if they went to the other shop! (note: I took that last sentence and paraphrased it from their website. Just to let you know) I've never tried the daily specials however. Those are pretty interesting because they sell it by weight. You tell the server what you want, and how much you want, and they'll cut it up, pack it, and weigh it. 

They also have a wide variety of salads for those who are of the healthier sort. And if you're one for pastries, they sell some cookies, muffins and (i think they're called) whoopie pies!

Anyway, although the lines are always long, it doesn't actually take forever to get your food. You'd be quite certain, actually, to get your food within a maximum 20 minutes (unless there's some monster at the front of the line making it hell for the server of course).

Their coffee is nothing really to shout about. Their cafe latte is just so-so. BUT, for some reason, their iced latte is quite good! Funny. And if you come in the evening, where there's less of a crowd, you'd actually be able to see the staff joking around and having a great time. I shouldn't be eaves-dropping, but sometimes the conversations are pretty funny (and they talk quite loudly too!).

There are plenty of seats and chairs, and a good large sofa for customers to sit on. Wifi is free and they don't really chase you out of there. 

I suppose that can be a good or a bad thing. 

Good because you can sit there and do your work and get all comfy and... well, you get the gist. 

But well, if everyone is gonna do that, then pretty much.. You won't be able to find a seat sometimes. And that's possibly the only downer. It does tend to get overrun by people interacting only with their computer screens. 

But otherwise, I really like this place. It's my escape from the over-populated and gimick-y Harvard Square area. It has more of a local flavour, and the neighbourhood is just lovely. 

I'd give this place a B+. :)

(On a random note, I've noticed that I only write about places I like. I never have the urge to talk about bad places that I've been to. *shrugs* I don't see myself changing)

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.