Russia & Dubai : Day 7 & 8 (3-4 May 06)

Day 7 is just flying from Moscow to Dubai and settle in the Hotel in the evening.

Day 8, we begin the day with Dubai City Tour. Dubai is rather similar to Singapore as it is very modern and people was all places came to work. Dubai is also the most populous and second largest emirate (in terms of size) in the federation after Abu Dhabi. It have 1.2 million population who mostly are foreigner working here.

During the city tour, We passed by the palace of ths Sheikh, the lord of the Dubai Emirate, Peacocks run wild on the road. They are not afraid of the vehicle at all.





We also visited the horse and camel racing course. In Dubai, watching the race does not cost money and everyone is given a chance to guess the winner, unlike Singapore where it cost to watch and gamble.




Next, we visit the 7 star hotel, Burj Al Arab, from a far. We are to take picture from as we will be having high tea there in the afternoon. The hotel is designed to shape like a sailing boat.








River cruise on River Creek is the next event. From the river, we observed a lot of the commerical and government building in Dubai.







In the afternoon, we go for our high tea in Burj Al Arab, this hotel is built on a man make island and it is restricted to guest and tourist with advanced booking only. The interior is especially grand. There are only 202 rooms in the hotel, but every room is 2 floors. I can afford to stay in their cheapest room for a night with 1 month salary or I can stay a night in the most expensive suite with all my fortune. This is definate a place for the rich. The cakes and pastry are delicious while the pianist is playing at the background. It is quite relaxing though.

Russia & Dubai : Day 6 (2 May 06)

This is a not so interesting day, because we are visiting a monastery in Sergiev Posad, a old Russian town which require significant time on the coach to reach there. The monastery is named Trinity Sergius Monastery, it is the heart of Russian Orthodoxy, with its magnificent and harmonious architecture dating from 15-19th centuries. The town is also the hometown of old Russian handicrafts.

Musical : Grease

Last Saturday evening, I attended the Musical 'Grease'. Yes, it is the same stories as the old movie by John Travolta. The theme is the campus life of 70s. Songs are old but nice. Also reminded me on my study days when life is mostly care-free.

Movie : X-Men: The Last Stand

I watched this 3rd and supposingly last of the X-Men movies yesterday night.
Pros : Effect is good, story is fine, great characters.
Cons : Heavy underuse of most characters, except Woverine and Storm. There is just not enough for character such as Cyclop, Professor X, Rogue. And where is nightstalker? Movie is way too short and not enough to describe a lot of events.

Come to think I it, I am a bit disappointed. But, then again, I may set the expectation too high (I like the 1st 2 movies very much) and also too influenced by the death of the 2 characters so early in this movie (see and you know who are they).

Russia & Dubai : Day 5 (1 May 06)

Today, it is more of a palace/museum tour. In the morning, we reached Palace Square and the Alexander Column. The Alexander Column (Aleksandrovskaia Kolonna ), the focal point of Palace Square, was designed by the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand and built between 1830 and 1834. The monument is 155 feet 8 inches tall and is topped with a statue of an angel holding a cross (the face of the angel is said to be modeled on the face of Emperor Alexander I). The body of the column is made of a single monolith of red granite, which stands 83 feet 6 inches high and about 11 feet 5 inches in diameter. It is a terrific feat of engineering that this enormous column, weighing an incredible 1,322,760 pounds (600 tons), was erected in under 2 hours without the aid of modern cranes and engineering machines.

Then, we visit the Winter Palace, also called the Hermitage. The Winter Palace was built between 1754 and 1762 for Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died before the palace’s completion and only Catherine the Great and her successors were able to enjoy the sumptuous interiors of Elizabeth’s home. Many of the palace’s impressive interiors have been remodeled since then, particularly after 1837, when a huge fire destroyed most of the building. Today the Winter Palace, together with four more buildings arranged side by side along the river embankment, houses the extensive collections of the Hermitage. The Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in Russia and is among the largest and most respected art museums in the world. We are very lucky to enter at 10am at a special entrance while the main crowd may only enter at 11am, the official opening hours. The palace is so big and grand that you have to go through it after more than 2 hrs when the crown also joined us half way in there. The Hermitage’s collections include works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian, a unique collection of Rembrandts and Rubens, many French Impressionist works by Renoir, Cezanne, Manet, Monet and Pissarro, numerous canvasses by Van Gogh, Matisse, Gaugin and several sculptures by Rodin. Any da Vinci's code? I thought amusingly.

After lunch, we travel to the summer palace and the Peterhof. Peterhof is an immensely luxurious and beautifully preserved Imperial estate, founded in 1710 by Peter the Great on the shore of the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea). It combines several ornate palaces, a number of beautifully landscaped parks and a dazzling array of magnificent statues and fountains, lending it the epithet "The Russian Versailles".




After dinner, we dragged ourself to the Train Station where we will take a night train back to Moscow. Each cabin is installed with 4 beds, 2 or tops and 2 below. I slept soundly on it till we reach Moscow in the early morning next day.

Russia & Dubai : Day 4 (31 Apr 06)

Today, we begins our St. Petersburg City Tour.

First, we visit the Neva river of the city, there are still ice floating on the river, they must be from the North, as only trhe Baltic Sea separated the city from North Pole.





Next, we visited the Peter and Paul Cathedral, on the smallest island in St.Petersburg, which also called the Rabbit Island. This cathedral is the burial place of all the Russian Emperors and Empresses from Peter the Great to Alexander III. The Cathedral was the first church in the city to be built of stone (between 1712-33) and its design is curiously unusual for a Russian Orthodox church.





Next, we visited "The Bronze Horseman", an impressive monument to the founder of St Petersburg, Peter the Great, stands on Senatskaia Ploschad' (Square), facing the Neva River and surrounded by the Admiralty, St Isaac's Cathedral and the buildings of the former Senate and Synod - the civil and religious governing bodies of pre-revolutionary Russia.





We also took a river cruise today to enjoy the sight from the rivers itself. There are so many bridges and river in the city, and the bridge are very low, one could easily touch it when the boat went under them.




In the afternoon, we also visit the The Mikhailovsky (St Michael's) Castle and the "Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood". This marvelous Russian-style church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881. The decision was taken to build a church on the spot where the Emperor was mortally wounded. The church was built between 1883 and 1907 and was officially called the Resurrection of Christ Church (a.k.a. The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood ).

how much is your blog worth?

The last time I tried is last year end, it worth nothing during then.
Now it seems better.
Not that I care, but I think it is the feelings and the friends I knew from blogging that are priceless.

My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?

Russia & Dubai : Day 3 (30 Apr 06)

The third day, as the tour programme changed the day before, we are visiting the famous red square.




We took the Metro (subway) to Red Square, we stopped at 4 of the stops to take pictures. Every stop is beatifully decorated like a musuem. At Victory Park Stop, the station is so deep that it took around 3 minutes to reach the bottom by escalator. Begun in 1935, the system has 12 lines and more than 171 stations. The system is one the world's busiest, with seven million passengers every day and trains every 90 seconds at peak times.



Red Square (Russian: Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad) is the most famous city square in Moscow. The square separates Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter, known as Kitay-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, the Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and of all Russia.

The name of Red Square derives not from the colour of the bricks around it, nor from the link between the colour red and Communism. Rather, the name came about because the Russian word красная (krasnaya) can mean either "red" or "beautiful" (the latter meaning is archaic). The word was originally applied (with the meaning "beautiful") to Saint Basil's Cathedral, and was subsequently transferred to the nearby square.

Next, we went to Old Arbat Street which is a cultural street with small or make-shift stores, buskers are there to earn a living too. The Moscow Hard Rock Cafe is also here.

After lunch, we took a train to St. Petersberg.
Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, Sankt-Peterburg) is a city located in northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. It is informally known as Питер (Piter) and was formerly known as Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924) and Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991).

Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 as a "window to Europe," it served as the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years (the capital was moved to Moscow after the Russian Revolution of 1917). With about 4.7 million inhabitants (2002), today Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city, Europe's fourth largest city, a major European cultural center, and the most important Russian port on the Baltic.


The Baltic sea is just behind the hotel. In the evening, there are a lot of people enjoying the sunset there.

I will cover the tour in St. Peterberg in the coming blogs.

P.S. : In Russian tongue, thank you is 'Spicy bar' while I love you is 'yellow blue bus'.

Cocktail : Midori Sour

Friday night, I made this cocktail : Midori Sour.
It is quite simple
1 measure of Midori Melon Liqueor
1 measure of Lemon juice
0.25 measure sugar syrup
It taste sweet and sour with melon favour.

Movies : Mission Impossible : 3 & Poseidon

Last week, watched 2 very exciting movies.

Mission Impossible :3 continue the action packed triller of Special Agent Ethan Hunt. I especially like the movie when they execute their super co-ordinated plan.

As for Poseidon, It is also very exciting, but it is real heart breaking to see only 6 person leaving the ship alive.

Having snacks when watching TV or movie is wonderful experience provide the snack us good and the sound of eating do not disturb others. My friend gave me this packet of fish cracker, it is good and well I am sure it will disturb no one since I watch TV alone at home now.

Russia & Dubai : Day 1 & 2 (28 - 29 Apr 06)

Russia is a new tour location for Singapore as Singapore Airline only establish the route on 1 Mar 2006. It is very costly, with Visa cost, War Risk, Fuel Surcharge, service charges etc, also due to the fact I will be staying by myself (SG$500 extra for that). Well, I seldom take holiday, might as well as enjoy the best of it.

To my surprise, this is a very big tour group, normal tourists is around 62, excluding around 15 doctors on incentive tour.

On Day 1, 28 Apr 06 (Friday), I flow from Singapore to Moscow via Dubai by SQ376, starting on 10pm and reach Moscow on the next day around 7.45am, the flight is around 14 hrs in total, excluding the transit wait at Dubai, the time difference is 4 hrs slower than Singapore. As usual, the travel agency uses flight at late night to consider one day.

On Day 2, 29 Apr 06 (Saturday), I arrived in Moscow, Russia. The airport is Domodedovo International Airport. The Russia custom is EXTREMELY slow, they can use 15 minute on a person. With such as big group, time is wasted. Schedule of the tour was delay by at least 2 hours. So, instead of going for the tour immediately, we set off for lunch first.


Moscow, being a in-between for Eastern Europe and Asia, have food more like western food but with much more vegetable. In my view, more healthy, why not?


After Lunch, we visit the Kremlin. Kremlin (Кремль) is the Russian word for "fortress", "citadel", or "castle" and refers to any major fortified central complex found in historical Russian cities. Refer to here for more info. We enter from the flower tower (the low white tower on the left), The majestic tower in red on the right is Trinity Tower. There are 22 towers in Kremlin, but not all are named. There are 5 entrances, and this is the main entrance for tourists, also the only 1 tower that is not inside the fortress.


Within Kremlin, there are a lot of buildings from different era, due to damage and rebuilt. The photo shows 2 interesting sight in Kremlin. One being the biggest cannon that never fired and the biggest bell that never ring.

within Kremlin, and it is a common place for wedding photos.



The most famous church there being the assumption church. The Kremlin is a big place. After visit the major attractions, we left.






Outside the entrance, is the hugh National Library of Moscow.





Next, we visit the highest point in Moscow, the University of Moscow. This building is one of the seven skyscrapers in Moscow, and it sure look Majestic.



After dinner, we checkin at the famous Ukraine Hotel. If may be famous, but in my opinion, the room quality is only so-so.

P.S: I am no expert on History of Russia or Christianity, so pardon me to add links for the correct history as I do not want misled you.

电影:再说一次,我爱你

在回国的航班上,我选了'Fun with Dick and Jane', 'Cheaper by the Dozen 2', 还有'再说一次,我爱你'. 前两部都是喜剧, '十二笑星'还带着亲情的温暖,但是我还是最喜欢'再说一次,我爱你',差不多从头哭到尾.我相信哭是有减压和治疗的作用,只是我不知道我看戏能哭这么多,或者是因为经历多了生离死别,而有所感触吧.



歌手：刘德华
歌曲：再说一次我爱你
词:刘德华 李安修
曲:kim heon jick

记得那天你坐在我的面前
你的意愿很明显等我的表现
我说改天等我有足够时间
我一定给你一次完美爱情的宣言
多想抓紧每一瞬间
只怕故事已是昨天
才明白忽略是我最大的缺陷
我真的好想再说一次我爱你
我愿意放弃所有一切只为换回你
如果时间能够为你而倒流
真的好想牵著你的双手再说一次我爱你
回忆已经没有你在我面前
看什么也会感到厌倦我闭上双眼
多想两个人盖一张被
一同刷牙一同洗脸
才明白错把机会借给了明天
我真的好想再说一次我爱你
我愿意放弃所有一切只为换回你
逃避原来不是面对的道理
看清自己种下的可惜重复後悔的延续
喔我真的好想再说一次我爱你
我愿意放弃所有

P.S. : Russia and Dubai Trip's posting will be published after much needed editiing.