Chinese "Niu" Year 2009 - Part B

My wife and I went to watch 2 movies during CNY and they are none other than Jack Neo’s “Love Matters and “The Wedding Game”. After watching the 2 movies, we have contrasting views on which is nicer.

Personally, I feel “Love Matters” is funnier and more meaningful as it tells of love, happiness and issues concerning our straight laced society.

As for “The Wedding Game”, like what I told my wife, it is about Christopher Lee and Fann Wong. Haha!! So if you have not watched these 2 CNY movies, here are the trailers…

Before I go, more photos for CNY 2009

Chinese "Niu" Year 2009 - Part A

Before CNY

One of the reasons why I enjoy CNY so much is that it is always a time which my wallet gets replenished. But this year, it is different :( We have to start blessing others. I was telling Em that now I understand why there are people who choose to go overseas during CNY. Haha..

Reunion Dinner

All the food are prepared single-handedly by my mum. Amazing right!! I think she is the best chef in the world. Look at the "yam ball" in the middle. It is one of the hot favourite!!

1st Day of CNY

We are all ready to GO!!!


We went to quite a number of places on day 1 and by the end of the day, we were all physically tired. However, we still went ahead with our annual must-do activity for CNY which is to catch a movie. Will blog more about it again so stay tuned for part B of Joe's CNY 2009 :)

The Last Lap

Finished my last paper for my degree programme this morning. I ought to be very happy and celebrating but it was not to be. The paper was quite difficult and I started to doubt whether I will clear this last hurdle in one month's time.

This semester is unlike other semester. During previous semesters, even when the examinations were difficult, I will still be able to convince myself that I will eventually do well. Maybe this is the last lap and usually when it comes to the last lap, it is harder for you to swallow a defeat.

As I looked back my last 3 years at UniSIM, it was a journey full of tears and bruises, having to manage studies, work, ministry and family. I am no Superman and in the last 3 years I do gave up certain things to pursue my degree. At times, I felt like giving up but it was really God that encourages and help me to pull through.

I am counting on God again this time. Like what the bible says "With God, all things are possible!" After all, when Pastor Kong got us to write one desire in our heart during Arise & Build, I wrote to complete my degree programme this year. I just need to stir up my faith, start believing, confessing and visualising!

What do I see in one month's time?? This is what I see....

Madrid

Madrid is our 3rd stop, am posting it here first cos the Barcelona album is massive and too many for me to caption right now. Madrid is the capital of Spain and a charming lovely city. However, it really pales in comparison with the life and vibrancy of Barcelona, which we love. Check out the photos below and two videos on a very lively flamenco performance we watched in Madrid.




Flamenco! from Emily Ong on Vimeo.


Junior Flamenco from Emily Ong on Vimeo.

Paris

Hi guys, have posted our honeymoon pics online but haven't had the time to caption all of the pics. Shall do it one at a time, starting with our first stop Paris. Check out the slide show below. If you click on the yellow icon on the left, you can link to the actual album online and read the captions we have meticulously added for your added pleasure and information. =)

Granada is very hot!!

Hee, instead of Barcelona part 2, we are moving ahead to talk about the last leg of our trip, Granada. We are staying at a really charming B&B called Casa del Aljarife. The room is huge and the toilet is a separate room on its own! I think our previous hotel rooms were the size of this toilet! Btw, the temperature here is HOT! Today´s 41 degrees... you thought Singapore´s hot but here´s hotter! Okie.. gotta go first cos someone needs to use the internet.. try to update again later!

The top left corner shows our room, it has two plush arm chairs we just plonk down at the end of the day and stare out to the Alhambra. In case you din know, pple flock to Granada to see the Alhambra. It's a fascinating and really beautiful place. At the bottom of the pic you see the entrance to the room which we have to walk a short flight of steps to reach. On the right, you see the courtyard where we have our breakfast every morning. The owner of the B&B always greets us with a "Good Morn......ing" when we go down for breakfast =)

On the top left, you can see the view out of one of the windows. The brownish red tower is part of the Alhambra. At the bottom and right, you can see how big our toilet is!

Really really had a great time at the B&B and we have to thank our host, Christian Most, for being so hospitable and friendly. He's a German that has been living in Granada for the past 12 years. He shared with us that he studied in Granada for a year in his younger days and then came back, bought the place, set up the B&B and has been living in Granada since.

City of Barcelona - Part 1

It is 1am in Barcelona now and Em is soundly asleep. Since there is nothing much to do and I am not really sleepy, I decide to blog about our stay in Barcelona so far. This is our 3rd day here and we have 1 more day to go before we move on to Madrid. To all the soccer fanatics, it should sound familiar to you as it is where the famous club Real Madrid FC is. Anyway, let me tell you more about Barcelona first.

1st Day
The moment we reached our hotel at Barcelona, Em suggested that we go and try out authentic spanish food. The hotel reception recommended us to this particular bar and we tried out the "Tapas". I tell you it was YUMMY!!

2nd Day
For breakfast, we dropped by this cafe near our hotel. This is what we had for our morning breakfast =)


For the rest of the day, we went around exploring the city of Barcelona and these are some of the highlights.

Sagrada Familia
This is my favourite so far. A massive Roman Catholic church that is still under construction since 1882!! It is designed by Antoni Gaudi, a famous Catalan architect. This building is truly a masterpiece. Just look at the picture and you will understand.

Nou Camp Stadium
Our next stop is the home ground of FC Barcelona, the Nou Camp stadium that can accomodate about 100,000 spectators. Both Em and I are definitely not a big fan of Barcelona but I was thinking how can we miss out on the biggest stadium in Europe when we are in Spain. As a result, we decided to pay a visit. Hehee.. I wanted to take photo with the Champions League trophy but it turns out that we need to pay if we want to. Smart way to make money I must say!!


After the stadium, we went to a few more tourist attractions. It was tiring but enjoyable to see new things. I guess both Em and I enjoyed Barcelona more than Paris. More things to see, more to eat and definitely more to shop =) We will update on Part 2 soon so stay tuned while I get some sleep before hitting the streets of Barcelona again.