Paris - entry 002

Arrived at our hotel in Paris and was very disappointed with it! XD



Compared to the hotel we stayed at in Barcelona, this was awful.=_= [but by Paris standards I think this is nice enough! XD]



The Toilet&Bath, and the tiny table for one in the corner.



The tiny desk and the telly.XD



As you can see, this is what greets you as soon as you enter the room..



The ceiling,


Mirror..


..and another..


The bed.. not too lavish.



Was actually small compared to what we had in our previous hotel (hahaha, should stop comparing!)

(May I also add that the bed was too low, And the sheets had a different colour on the folded parts... // The carpet was dingy // There was a red hair in the T&B, and it was there until we left the hotel. Makes me wonder how long it has been there. // My first thoughts were.. a.>I wish we were still in Barcelona b.>I wanted to go out, c.>was thinking how many days I had to stay there.=_=)





The window.



We had to open the windows because the A/C was not working! =_= and we were sweating.



Not much of a view really, but this is Paris and I love it.XD
(sudden change of heart? xP lol)



The stairs.XD Luckily the hotel was equipped with an elevator. Phew.



Stairs? Elevator?
If you should think about this hotel in a creepy way, it can be creepy. There was a picture of someone on the wall, on the stairs.. I don't think I took one of it.



The elevator was extremely tiny and ancient old-ish!

Two luggages + two people was all it could take.

This was the room assigned to us, lol, you will bump into the door as soon as you step out of the elevator. XD (okay, I exaggerate a bit! XD)



The lobby was nicely furnished with a bit of holiday decor.



The receptionist who greeted us seemed friendly at first, but very lazy. (=_=)


We told him (1) the A/C was not working, he did nothing about it. (2) We also requested for extra towels because our room did not have enough -- he said he would "ask someone" to bring it up, but he was the only person around.o_O



Anyway, when we got back that evening, (1) the A/C was not working, still.
We opened the windows to let *some* air in. I was the one closest to the window...and I woke up some time during the night because it was freezing!! :S -- but I was too snug under the blanket to close it. =_= LOL. (2) No extra towels were brought to our room as we requested! Luckily another receptionist was on shift that evening, and as soon as we called he brought some freshly-pressed towels. -- Lol, I heard him running up the stairs... He had a funny expression on his face and I couldn't stop laughing when I closed the door. XDD

In the end I cannot complain much because it was in a great location. I loved the vicinity. I loved it when I first stepped on it.

Did I tell you this hotel was also more expensive than the one we had stayed at in Barcelona? Not so worth it if you think about it, but this is Paris we're talking about, after all.


And note, I've stayed in hotels far worse than this. One of my worst stays was at The Empire Hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The front desk people are effin arrogant.... and that alone irks me.


So if you ask me if I would stay here again, answer would be.. yes. Great location, and the staff including housekeeping were nice. Except of course if I find a better choice, then of course would jump at that.XD Just so you know, the A/C was fixed the next day, but they still forgot to replenish the bath towels the next day, and I had to call again to request it. o_O

Sketches - 020

Someplace in Hong Kong.XD

Sketches - 019

A courtyard somewhere in Hong Kong, forgot where this was, will check later and edit this post when I remember...>_<""



From 2009.;D

Sketches - 018

La Salle Chapel, Hong Kong



[Halfway through I ran out of ink.>_< So had to use another pen to finish, colour was a bit different, but good thing it's unnoticeable.]

[Made a minor mistake as I was filling it in and doing the finishing touches. Can you tell where?:P]

Sketches - 017

Something from my sketchbook, was posted 2008, but from sometime earlier:

The entrance of the Flagstaff House in Hong Kong:


One of my first big drawings in ink; It took me one Saturday evening and one Sunday morning to finish.XD

Sketches - 015 ~ 016

Random drawings:

Some cute lil people:


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Fruits Basket (Anime):


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Sketches - 014

2009, in watercolour:

Sketches - 013

Back in 2009 or 2010, cannot remember.:D

When I was taking Japanese classes..



..done in watercolour.

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[Was trying a different handwriting at that time, ...is a little unreadable.]

Sketches - 012

Random doodle from 2008:



...Saw something similar on a Japanese Fashion magazine, modified it a little, is something I'd like to own.:P

Sketches - 011

Something I drew after coming back from one of my Singapore trips.



...simply to help me remember what went on.:D

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(This is the hotel stationery, where we stayed. Only stayed once at Carlton Hotel, and it did not leave a very nice impression. Felt the concierge was a little snobbish. The room that was first given to us reeked of smoke, on a smoking floor, when we specifically indicated we wanted a non-smoking one. They were hesitant to change it at first, but we were later given another room on a non-smoking floor... grudgingly. The girl who was on the evening shift had an attitude about her. BAD service at Carlton Hotel... from my experience back in 2008.., never stayed there again.)

Sketches - 010

Back when I often went to Singapore for short visits (years ago),

I drew something like this to remind myself of the things I need to bring.:D



Did not have a camera yet back then, so would bring 2 mobile phones to take photos with and another one as backup.:D

The green backpack I still bring with me everytime I travel.:P

Sketches - 009

Was still crazy about vampires and blackXred themes.

The chair in this photo is inspired by something I saw from Vampire Knight (anime), and the character, just some random one I came up with.:P



One of my failed attempts at watercolour [Have always been bad at watercolour...], not quite satisfied with how this turned out (the mistakes are so obvious), but I like the chair.:D

Sketches - 008

At some point was crazy about vampires and the Twilight Saga..

My less-than-10-minute sketch of the book cover...



Seems I am not so good at lettering..Heh.x_X

Sketches - 005~007

Some more sketches from back then, used to draw on anything. The French BD culture inspired me (and still does!), and was experimenting with faces like these.>_<

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The first drawing I posted on my blog ages ago...>_<


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This is one of my favourites, I think it's really cute.:D


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Nomming on a mashi-maro


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Have more of these faces, shall post them sometime.:D

Sketches - 001~004

Today though I'd do some sketching since I haven't been for the longest time.:D

But was cleaning my room for hours and ended up too tired to do anything.=_="" Hehe.

I used to have my sketches in a separate link before (2008-jan2011). But since I have changed my layout last year I have forgotten to post them again.>_<

So here are some works I did in pencil before:

[Some of these are from 2008 and were taken with my Samsung e890 phone.]

Was a very tiny photo from a travel book...


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The Two Towers, from LOTR book illustration..


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About a Boy, from the movie/ and also book cover...
(Hehe, okay, this does not look like Hugh Grant, but at least it looks human.XD)



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This was from a Levi's ad...


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So far these were the only ones I have uploaded.XD

Let's see if I can find some more.:D

CNY 2012 - Chinese New Year

Time to take my Nikon out for some CNY snaps.>_<



Following photos are from yesterday's events. (Except for lasst four photos, the rest were taken with Nikon.]

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We usually celebrate CNY Eve with family and relatives. This year, we're headed somewhere different.;p

A look at the lobby. I love the interior od this hotel. [I wrote a ppost on this one before, but photos back then were taken with my psp.]



Tables were set up here and there for the night's events. [seems it will start at a later time.:P]






A look at the rest of the lobby,






They have a huge dragon on their ceiling! :P






Beautiful.




Saw this sign and thought, what bazaar? >_<



Turns out it was referring to this...





Wasn't much of what a bazaar should be really, was just one stall selling...stuff.

The 12 animals in the Chinese horoscope...[Where is the rabbit?:P]





They also have some chinese-inspired thingies set up with the arches.



Here, the stage for the evening's performances.



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Last time we came here we had buffet.

Now we are trying a different restaurant,





The lion dances came first.. Here they are as they entered..



Our table, [without the foodies yet...]



To my right, was this:



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And the dragon came: [They go around each table.:P]






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This is as far as I could zoom!!



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This is what the people do: [They usually put the hong bao-'red packet' (with money inside) as high as they could, and the lion tries to get it. Some take very very long, especially in the streets! Have had experience seeing one back when I was a kid... the red packet was hung on the 2nd --or was it 3rd-- floor of a building... the performance took quite some time, but hey managed to get it in the end, of course!]



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This is my cousin.. and my other cousin who wanted to lift him higher.>_<"


...but they didn't in the end,:P

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Another cousin, with the red version.:P



One more shot as they were about to leave:





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Now to the FOODIE!

..

First up was salad



Was with some raw....salmon?



Heh! Where else have you seen someone eat their salad with chopsticks!! >_<

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Soup, was quite good. What soup was this..? I know the name in hokkien but not in english.x_X



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Next was shrimp, fried, with some mayonnaise. Was quite nice.



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Some mushrooms, abalone, sea cucumber, and the usual whatnots...



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Crab! Was good and garlicky. Would have loved more garlic though...



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Fish, and some cured pork meat in between.



[Soz for the blurry! >_< Someone moved the table before before I finished clicking...x_X Hahaha. Would be impolite to move it back.:P]

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Very very tender (and err, a little fatty) meat. Was good.



..

You might wonder what this is...



It's actually rice inside.



This is supposed to be sticky and all. But this one is not as sticky as I expected. Haha. And a little too plain...

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Some dumplings. Coould not get a good shot.o_O



These were yum!

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And finally, some sweets!



Is quite traditional to be eating this on CNY. But here, it's a little different from the normal one.:P Also tastes a bit like almond.



Hahaha, wasn't too sweet, which I quite liked.

Good thing I was well in time for this! [some days ago I had a sore throat! x_X Well, now I have a cold but it seems to be going away.:P]

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As we were about to leave, the lobby was now full of people.:P





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Some dude in a dragon costume, the rest of the lobby, and people with balloons outside..





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One thing about CNY is that you can get some red packets (filled with money).>_<



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What I wore to dinner:



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And here's the 100th photo, (just for the sake of it, I am posting this photo to make it 100, just for fun.>_<)



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Happy CNY!! ^_^