Beautiful Scotland

Just got back from my one-week vacation around Scotland (and a bit of Northern England) with Aik Win and Angela. And boy – the road trip was magnificent! You’ve gotta see it to believe…

Here’s a quick list of the places we stopped by:

York (England) – The large Cathedral here (York Minster) is simply majestic
Lake District (England) – Breathtaking, and Majestic

Edinburgh – A beautiful cultural city with attractions like the Castle and Scott Memorial

Falkirk – The Falkirk Wheel is a scientific wonder built to transport ships up 150 feet

Stirling – Home of the Wallace Monument (Recall Braveheart?) and Stirling Castle

Glencoe – Breathtaking view of Scotland’s most famous valley

Fort William – Amazingly picturesque mountains, rivalling Lord of the Rings!

Loch Ness – Yes, home of the famous Nessie - We even drove one circle around the lake!

Loch Lomond – The largest (and one of the most beautiful) lake in all of mainland Britain

Glasgow – Shopping paradise of Scotland, with a vibrant lifestyle

Liverpool (England) – Awesome Beatles Museum, River Fest and Anfield

Apologies for the short post – time’s really tight. I promise to write more of this wonderful trip.

Here’s a quick summary of my upcoming schedule:

16-19 June – Rome and Italy

20 June – Day trip to Dublin (Ireland)

21 June – Balik Kampung!!!

Hence, it’s gonna be really tight for me to update this blog. Nevertheless, please stay tuned. There are tonnes of amazing stories to be told...

Chocolates - A Brief History

As promised:

At the begining of the 16th century, during the conquest of Mexico, the Spaniards learnt about cocoa. For the indigenous population (the Aztecs), the cocoa bean was of divine origin; that is why Linnaeus named the cacao tree Theobroma cacao (Theobroma = food of the gods).

The beans were roasted and ground, and then diluted with water to obtain a cloudy drink, to which vanilla and other spices were added. The Aztecs called this mixture "cacau-atl". On the Spaniards' return, news travelled quickly and their recipe was implemented throughout Europe.

At around 1700, the "cocoa" drink (to which honey or sugar were added) was widely known.The colonial powers of the time exported the cacao tree to Africa and Asia.

Production, consumption and trading of cocoa increased constantly. However, the most rapid expansion occurred in the 19th century, after 1828, when Van Houten discovered a method for removing a large proportion of the fat from the cocoa butter. This marked the start of the production of bars and slabs of chocolate.

Cool huh? :)

Amsterdam and Brugge

Hooray! I’ve finally set foot on another two new countries – The Netherlands and Belgium! Quick check: This brings my list of European countries to 5 (after France, Switzerland, and Austria last Christmas). *Grinz*

Let’s start with the Holland. Well, I really must say that this remarkable country really lives up to the tales told about it. I saw many windmills, grazing cows (any guesses as to where Dutch Lady milk powder came from?), and beautiful tulips. We also visited a traditional Cheese and Wooden Clogs factory that was located about 45 minutes off Amsterdam.

A Windmill in Amsterdam

Traditional Wooden Clogs

For the Amazing Race fans out there, you may recall that there was an episode (Season 4: Episode 5) which required the contestants to perform a Detour while they were in Amsterdam:

They can choose to perform "15ft" or "500kg". Bizarre mixture of SI units with non-SI units aside, "15ft" requires contestants to wade through a fifteen-foot pile of cow manure and dig deep to find the next clue. "500kg" will require a Team to wear traditional wooden clogs, pick up cheese and pile them on a wooden stretcher, and bring exactly 500kg worth of cheese to the man nearby who awaits with the next clue. "15ft" is fast but disgusting, while "500kg" is clean but performing it will obviously take a longer time.

And when night crawls out, a particular section of Amsterdam comes to life. Yes – the famous Red Light District. This is the main reason why tourists from all over the world flock to Amsterdam – where Prostitution and Pot are legalized. Words fail me in describing this place. But if you do need help imagining what it looks like, think of a more established and organised version of London’s SOHO, or Singapore’s Geylang. It’s really an amazing sight.

Right – let’s move on to Brugge.

This medieval town in Belgium is a really beautiful place. The town centre - known as the Market Square - is dominated by the Cloth Hall and the 83 meter high Belfry Tower, one of the most majestic symbols of the city.

Hmm.. I guess now’s the perfect time for a brief history lesson:

The original cloth hall and tower in the Market Square date from 1240. The first tower, however, was destroyed by fire in 1280. At the time of the fire the four wings of the cloth hall already existed, as well as the two square segments of the belfry. The present octagonal lantern was added to the tower between 1482 en 1486. The wooden spire that crowned the tower was again destroyed by fire in 1493.

After the last fire it was never rebuilt. Like in most cities of the Low Countries the belfry tower was the place where the important documents of the city were preserved. At the same time such towers were used as watchtowers. Inside hung bells, each bell having a distinct sound and function (e.g.: bells for danger, bells for important announcements, bells to indicate the time, etc.).

The entire complex still bears witness to the importance of Bruges as a medieval trade centre. In the cloth hall, the Flemish cloth which was manufactured in different other cities was sold to the rest of the world. In 1399, for instance, there were 384 sales stands inside the hall.

As we left the town centre and headed for our tour bus, I managed to pick up one of the finest snacks Belgium has to offer – WAFFLES! And boy – they’re delicious! Just writing the word makes me drool. Haha….

And our last stop was none other than at the PJ Chocolate Factory. Haha, it was sooooooooo fun! I had the chance to taste so many different kinds of Belgian chocolates – and they’re simply deeeeeelicious! Being a die-hard chocolate lover, I really felt like I was in heaven. Woohoo! Hm… perhaps I should write a blog about chocolates next time!

Well, I guess that sorta wraps up the trip – with a bang!

Will be headed to Scotland next week! Stay tuned for more adventures!