Memories~ Jun ~ Chaiko~

went to londons eye to catch the fireworks on display.. well we went there at 9pm n waited in the blistering cold for 3 hours. however, the wait was well worth it as we got an awesome view.. straight opposite the londons eye!
Without further ado, lets upload some photos n welcome a wonderful 2009! credit to caleb n ming for the photos.

home-made portugese egg tarts for new years eve dinner

english breakfast (crumpets with jam, fresh tomato with basil n mixed herbs hot from the oven, baked beans, frank fritters, sausages, eggs)

cheese baked rice for new years eve dinner

jun shang, me, caleb, nigel, yvonne, ming n poh shen

group photo near the london eye

look at how crowded thames river is

poh shen giving nigel a new years slap on the face.

us with some random people who asked ming for a photo since he looked pro with his camera

soon, the time struck 12. n its a new year! fireworks ahead!

me n the london eye

after the event, look at the swift action of the cleaners as they sweep the city clean of champagne bottles n all sorts of junk.

on our way back... im saving nigel from choking! :P haha

anyways, wish u guys a wonderful happy new year! hope u have a great 2009!

Preparation before the ski trip to La Plagne 1800

yuin roo n tieng packing the sandwiches n ming helping out with the preparation as well

wrapping the sandwiches in plastic bags..

ready to go!

After a gruelling 22 hours of sitting in the coach n ferry, i finally reached my getaway place. a place where i feel so free.. a place where i can let all my troubles flow out.. n a place where my winter break begins! here it goes.. Enter La Plagne 1800.....

The view of the area is amazing... with such tranquil serene vicinity, breath-taking sights n definitely fresh air which i long for.. a total opposite of life in london..

view outside our room.. im sharing a room with zukri, yongbo n faiz (the 2 a-level kids)

Quickly did we unpack our belongings, we rushed down for a small lunch before heading for the ski equipment!

Alas, after around an hour of queueing up for the equipment, its time to try them on...

zukri n i posing with the skis

Without any skiing lessons, i as an adventrous being decided to go to a beginner slope (green slope) which to my first impression wasn't that steep. unfornately, i guess i was wrong.. i couldn't handle this simple slope. the speed of going down this slope was tremendous, i sped up.. reached the end which was a small cliff of around 2metres tall n jumped off. The result being......

me with a red bruise on my head.. i went face flat into the snow as i jumped off the cliff. not a good start to skiing ey?

storage room where we store our ski equipment n snowboards

reading the map to see where to explore tomorrow morning.. well maybe not. especially after my great fall off the cliff =/

rinni n tieng

me n zukri

Dinner is served. its a buffet style for all meals... which means eat as much as u can.. haha

rinni, yanmin, jensen, me, tieng, roo n zukri

grape-fruit for desserts.. mmm sweet haha

we had to clean-up after ourselves.. well stack the plates on the racks after emptying them..

eating area.

walking back to our dorms/rooms

nicely decorated room..

how the dorms look like..

******

i didnt bring my camera out to ski because im afraid i might spoil it.. so there are no photos for the 2nd, 3rd n 4th day which is a pity. however, some photos can be seen on facebook as others brought their cameras along to take snapshots.

******

Bob-sleighing! paid 27 euros for this apparently awesome thrilling ride.. it is such a let-down after the ride finished.. all the anticipation for 360 turns at super fast speed never happened.

Bob-sleighs

******

Night skiing - a new event for the place during christmas eve.. instructors ski dangerously in the dark with torches in their hands to entertain a crowd as we sip on warm malt wine.

the instructors making their way down the red slope (difficult)

they reached the bottom in one piece!

Christmas Eve Dinner celebrated in La Plagne!

Awesome decorations of the food

Wonderful cakes for desserts! the berry cakes are just spectacular..

us with one of the chef...

Weird muscular santas storming in the area...

Scallop, clams with curry sauce...

Kong ooi, ben, me n chai

******

This is my last day skiing so decided to bring my camera along...

me on the car lift

lilian n i

rinni, tieng, lillian n i

Reached the top of the 1st ski lift

the slope we have to ski down to get to the 2nd car lift

Me on top of the peak!

the girls n the instructor (yohan)

Going up the cable car is awfully boring, so decided to take random photos..

my ski n poles.

spectacular scenery from up here...

Down the slope looking at the route i just ski-ed

where yohan brought us to practise on the 2nd day

meeting area before heading off to ski

weee.. down i go..

this is the last night i m going to have in la plagne 1800. Went out for dinner to la plagne centre with the rest.

it sure is cold up here.

they serve cocks in this restaurant! =/

Thin-crust pizza

Medium weld juicy steak with fries n salad. apparently, its suppose to be well-done but the french always make their steak red on the inside =/

"Diots" (pork sausages) with red wine, melted onions and polenta (cheese). this dish is awesome. one of the regional specialities.

"Pormoniers" (a different kind of pork sausage) with honey gravy and "brozets" with mushrooms. this dish in my opinion is by far the best one n a must try next time i go there!

Banana split..