White White White...

It is white everywhere. The ground is layered with thick snow. As I was telling my sis that, I saw white droplets falling off from the sky. It's snowing! There's wind too - that made the innocence of snowing a snowstorm. However, the sky is still bright, which is awesome!

So, another day at home. Hehe, lazy to go out in the cold and to walk like a penguin in thick snow :p

Something inspiring from Coca-cola...

We constantly need reminders to jolt us to realisation what matters to us. Here's an inspiring 30 second speech by Bryan Dyson, the CEO of Coca-cola.

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them - Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the Air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it."

Although I cannot declare myself a workaholic, I am somewhat inclined to be engrossed in things that I do that I am totally oblivious what is happening around me. A colleague who sat across me commented "Do you notice that when you work, you just concentrate on your laptop and you don't look any where else or talk?". He has been trying to distract me from work for a while, every now and then, just to make sure I take a break off from my laptop. He meant well and I thank him for that.

After reading the speech (sent by a friend), it reminded me again that there are certain things in the world that you do not have a second chance to own or to make amends to.

Have you managed to keep all the 5 balls up in the air? Well, at least the vulnerable ones....?

United Kingdom : Pictures from Queen's land!

Wee!!! Finally, finished all photos (from my camera only) into Facebook. Next mission, to upload here - perhaps not all pictures =p There are still some photos in my colleague's camera.

We stayed at West Kensington, in zone 2 of London.

Getting there:Nearest train station : West Kensington

At the exit/entrance of West Kensington station, turn right. Walk straight. Cross the road at the first traffic light and continue walking straight. The hotel is on the right.Address: Kensington West Hotel 25-27 Matheson Road London W14 8SN United KingdomPrice : £27.31per night per person - twin room, including tax and fees. (Total was £218.48 for 4 nights for 2 person)There were complimentary drinks at the reception. So, you may have free flow of hot drinks whole day. It's a basic hotel room. So remember to bring your toothbrush, toothpaste, laundry bags, and so on. Shower gel and shampoo were provided, though.

On our first day, the first place we went to was Leicester Square. That's also where Chinatown was located. We also bought musical play tickets at Leicester Square station. If you buy early or book online, you may be able to get discounted tickets. We managed to get tickets for Wicked at a discounted rate! (£40 per person)

Chinatown during day and night

Next, London Eye ride ;) It was a rainy day....Otherwise, it would have been perfect! The ride costed £17.88.

Up in London Eye.

View from County Hall (near London Eye). Across is the Big Ben and the Whitehall Garden!

National Art Gallery. Admission is free. If you appreciate paintings, it's highly recommended to pay this tourist attraction a visit. It brings you through paintings from 16th century right to 21st century.
Outside the gallery is Trafalgar Square! Fountain at Trafalgar square Statue at Trafalgar Square Cannot recall what building is this but it's right opposite the statue at Trafalgar Square.Ready for traditional English tea (actually that was our brunch) at Fortnum and Mason which is located at Piccadily Street (about £32-36 per person. Yeah, ouch but since we were there, might as well give it a try). Looked yummy, eh. We were so stuffed by the end of the tea. I didn't finish everything on the plate. It was good that I had a walk right after the tea.

The British Museum. Worth going. Plenty to see inside. You can easily spend a day in there. Admission is free.

I know it's a little strange to go for oriental food at a Western country. Hehe. This restaurant was recommended by a friend of my colleague. Barshu Restaurant. It is claimed to have been awarded the Michelin Guided 2009 recognition. Barshu is located in Chinatown. A rather pricey restaurant.

Fish in hot oil. This is a renown dish in Szechuan. The fish is cooked in hot oil with lots of dried chillies and pepper. Beneath the fish are the bean sprouts (aka tauge). I like the taste. It's aromatic. Unfortunately, the chef did not use fillet only. It contains bones and fish belly (I know it's the best part but I dislike bellies). The texture of the fish was not as tender and soft as the one found in Copenhagen.

Another interesting dish. Fried chicken with dried chillies and sesame. It's spicy but really good. I love it. There's a challenge here though - you need to look for chicken among the abundance of dried chillies which are almost the same size as the chicken! LOL

Stole some random pictures after the hearty meal in Barshu.

Tower of London. You may take the River Thames cruise to reach Tower of London, if you would to take a look at the surroundings of River Thames. Along the river, there are a lot of wharfs.

Tower Bridge :D

Yummy food in Greenwich market!

Whitehall Garden

Entrance at Greenwich Park.

At the Meridian of Greenwich. People are lining up to stand at this point for photo-shooting ;)

See Malaysia's co-ordinate?