How to stay happy in a relationship (4):Be Sweet

March 9th, 2010 by Anna

I made a cheescake last night and put it in the fridge. This morning, I received an SMS from my husband:

“Hi, trying cheesecake now. Fantastic. There are reasons to keep loving you! X”

He is pretty sweet, isn’t he?

Despite being married for quite a while, we still remain sweet to each other. We always kiss good bye – it comes so naturally to us. It’s actually another friend who noticed and asked another western friend of hers why he doesn’t kiss goodbye, thinking it’s the western norm…

We often tell each other “I love you”. It doesn’t cost anything to show our affection. When you say “I love you”, it reminds you that you have someone to love. You ARE in love. Even if you don’t get the loving feeling, hopefully the one whom you say it to believes that you actually love him/her, feels more loved after hearing what you say, and love you even more. It’s a no cost investment to express your love, isn’t it? So, why not?

Be sweet. Make something special for your loved ones.

Here is the recipe of the cheesecake with LOVE:

Ingredients

125g digestive biscuits

75g melted butter

300g cream cheese

60g icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

250ml double cream

2 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method

  1. Crush digestive biscuits into crumbs, then stir in the melted butter.
  2. Press the biscuit mixture into a 20cm springform tin.
  3. Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.
  4. Whip the double cream, then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
  5. Spoon the cheesecake filing on top of the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula. Put it in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.
  6. For the blueberry topping, mix sugar, cornstarch, water, and lemon juice in small saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add blueberries; cook until bubbly. Chill. Spread on top of cheesecake and refrigerate.

Tips

  1. Digestive biscuits can be crumbled in a food processor. The manual method is to put biscuits into a ziploc bag, crush them with a rolling pin.
  2. Be sure you line the cake tin with baking paper. Biscuit base tends to stick to the tin and it’s hard to take it out.
  3. It takes time to set the cheesecake filing. Do not spoon the blueberry topping over the cake until it’s set. Otherwise it won’t look clean.
  4. The blueberry topping takes 24 hours to properly set in shape. In terms of timing, make it immediately after you make the cake, but chill it separately in the fridge. Spread it over the cake after at least 3 hours, and then chill for a day to get a nice layer of blueberry topping.

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幸福到喊

March 7th, 2010 by Anna

原來幸福到喊不單只是個expression,而是真有其事。


為了令到每一個婚禮都與別不同,我會特意地為每一對新人度身訂造rundown和講詞。我務求可以寫得更好和更能配合新人要求的speech,一般都會在會面時觀察一下他們兩個人的性格和style,問下他們的love story,和他們想我在儀式中特別帶出的意思。


我正在為一對couple寫婚禮的講詞。他們都是頗為健談的人,要求在婚禮時有一段對話,而不只是我一個人的演講。我要寫劇本,就要揾內容,搜集資料。於是,我分別和他們兩個人傾計,聽聽他們各自講講對對方的感受,和他們想在婚禮時與親友分享的東西。

首先我見準新郎,他的細心程度inspire了我寫另一篇blog,還令我好像中了毒一樣,成日自己唱容祖兒的“世上只有”。能夠有一個對自己那麼無微不至的伴侶,實在太幸福。我暗暗羨慕她的未婚妻。


接着,我就跟“世上只有”的女主角講打電話。連我這個旁人都impress by 她的未婚夫對她有多好,她自己當然都feel到幸福無邊。她吿訴我他們兩個人的趣事,相處之道,講講下,她居然自己都感動到喊了出來!世上真的有這麼相愛的couple,講講下電話都會開心到喊。我一邊聽,一邊忙着抄notes,都没有忘記恭喜她找到“世上只有”的幸福。


我非常之looking forward to their wedding,好榮幸有機會見證一對咁開心的新人的婚禮。希望我只有幸見證“幸福到喊”,而不是“幸福到爆”啦!


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嫁外國人(三):學好英語

March 2nd, 2010 by Anna

我以前有點抗拒同外國人拍拖,因為我十分enjoy講廣東話,有很多jokes都是要用廣東話講先好笑。我不喜歡經常都要在腦袋中翻譯英文,更十分之恐懼到到病在牀上,還要担心詞不達意,臨死都要翻譯人生中最後一句說話。

但最近經歷了兩件事,解除了我的憂慮。

話說有一晚,家中的scented candle漏蠟,在枱上燒到成呎高,發生小火警。我是第一個見到大火,第一時間大叫:“Burning! Burning! It’s burning!”Alan在瞬息間跑到枱邊,一口氣將蠟燭吹熄,算做有驚無險。回過神來,我突然想到,何解我在緊急關頭時,不是叫“火燭"或者“救火”而是大叫“Burning"呢?原來我的自然本能已經調節到在家中有緊急情況時會用英文求救。真是未試過都不知道!

昨晚,天氣潮濕,瞓到半夜三更,掛在牆上的風筒跌了下來,呯一聲把我們兩人都嚇醒,嚇到成個彈起來。一醒來,我聽到自己叫了一聲“What?”原來我講英文的instinct已超越了向家人求救,連自己在睡夢中的呼叫,都已經轉了英文台。

經過了這兩件,我意識到人的language是會因應環境而adapt。長時期在家中講英文,原來我已經習慣到我自己都不察覺那麼自然。我估我還有一段長時間都未死,到到幾十年後我估我的英文應該會更加揮灑自如,所以我應該不必担心臨死前要迫自己翻譯臨終之言,反而到時可能掉轉,要由英文思維翻譯回中文呢!

試過幾次跟Alan去shopping,有sales問我點樣學好英文。我都是行貨地答,講多點練習多點就可以。但其實事實擺在眼前,只要嫁個外國人,英文一定會進步!三個月學好外語,當然是騙人的大話啦!


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Planning a trip to Kenting

March 1st, 2010 by Anna

Chinese New Year holiday is over and I am already looking forward to the next holiday. This year, we are very lucky to have 5 consecutive holidays for Easter and Ching Ming. It’s time to plan ahead if you want to travel during that peak period.

My friend is planning to go to Taiwan during Easter and asked me for information about Kenting, as she knows I went there last year. I wrote her emails about how I feel about Kenting and shared some practical information. I extracted the content of my emails in this blog. Hopefully you will find it useful too.

Time to go

Last year, I went to Kenting during the May 1st long weekend. Taiwan also has a long weekend for the Labour Day. Many Taiwanese people travelled on short trips to Kenting that weekend. It was particularly busy. I suppose Taiwan won’t have Easter holiday (given they don’t even celebrate Christmas), so I expect fewer Taiwanese tourists during Easter. However, Kenting is a very popular destination for Hong Kong people. The number of Hong Kong tourists almost outnumbered local tourists when I was there. Basically I heard more Cantonese than Mandarin spoken at the tourist sights. I believe Kenting would still be very busy around Easter holiday.

Kenting music festival will take place on 3 and 4 April. I read about it in U Magazine last year. It looks like it mainly aims at young people. Concerts go on really late and I guess it will be very noisy near the concert venue. Bear this in mind when you book accommodation. Also, be prepared that the street will be full of people around 20 years old. Hope it won’t make you feel old.

There might be cherry blossom or some other flowers in Kenting in spring. Go and see if you are interested. If not, avoid the crowds in those places.

How to get to Kenting

You can take a bus from Kaohsiung airport to Kenting. The journey time is around 2 hours. But if you are hiring a car, just drive. The drive is easy and quite enjoyable with seaview. Fuel is very cheap in Taiwan.

Local Transport

You need to hire a car or motorcycle to go around places in Kenting. Public transport is not good or non-existent. It is much more enjoyable to have your own transport to be flexible. Or else, you may hire a car with driver. If you go with a group of 4, it works out to cost about the same as joining local day tour. But then you have complete control of your own itinerary and time.

Accommodation

There is a lack of really nice hotels in Kenting. There are only small 民宿. Some have more character than others. They are into different themes like Greek white house, Provence lavender garden etc. I would definitely recommend staying somewhere facing the sea. Anywhere facing the main street would be too noisy and unbearable.

Beach

The beach is quite beautiful with white fine sand. The drawback is that the beach was very very crowded at busy long weekend. I didn’t even bother to go to the main beach. Simply covered with people on every grain of sand. People go there for wind surfing, jet skis, banana boats etc. It would be quite exciting if you don’t mind the crowd.

Food

Food in Kenting is not good – Ah So agreed. She didn’t like the food when she went there for her programme either. She said Kenting is suitable for people who need to go on a diet…

Kaohsiung

Nothing much to see in Kaohsiung. Only a few shopping centres. No need to stop there unless you want to go shopping and buy some souvenirs. I stopped over and bought many many many many things though……


See more information on my website:

http://www.morethanhoneymoon.com/honeymoon/honeymoon/shorttrip/kenting.html


Kenting

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化妝水面膜

February 28th, 2010 by Anna

I read 美肌有道 by 佐伯千津 after I heard my relatives talking about it during Chinese New Year. It’s a Japanese comic book about beauty tips.

The craziest thing is to tear a piece of cotton pad into 5 pieces in order to cover the whole face as a facial mask. My cousin tried it. Obviously it takes some practice to tear cotton pads into five pieces. So she split hers into 3 pieces which failed to cover the whole face. The uncovered parts of the face appeared darker after 3 minutes. It proved that the facial mask worked – just for the parts that’s covered though…

I plucked up my courage to try this trick today. To ensure I wouldn’t commit the same mistake of my cousin, I bought some cheap cheap large cotton pads from Mannings. I tore each piece into 2 – that’s all I managed to do. I used a few cotton pads for my facial mask and waited for the mandatory 3 minutes.

It worked!!!! My face was glowing, feeling more hydrated and bright afterwards. I’d keep trying for a few days until I find myself too pretty…  : ) That may take more than a few days, or may never happen…

So I decide to scan the page and share with you on this blog. Give it a try.

As a lawyer, I need to include the disclaimer below:

“The writer of this blog takes no responsibility for the contents of this

blog, makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness

and expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever

arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of

this blog.”

… For those normal people who don’t know and for those extremely sad people who know, the above disclaimer is taken from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Rules!

facial mask 1
facial mask 2
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Nigella Express

February 27th, 2010 by Anna

nigella lawson

This is one of the best recipe books I have ever bought. I have tried quite a few recipes in it, and all have proven to be utterly successful. Easy and quick to make, and very tasty!

I tried one recipe tonight, and here it is (with my own adaptation):

Spaghetti with Prawns and Chili

(Serve 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course)

Ingredients:

200g prawns, peeled

30 ml oil

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 spring onions, finely chopped

8 hot chillies, finely chopped

200g sunblush tomatoes (see tips below)

125 ml white wine

50g rocket leaves

  1. Cook pasta according to packet instruction.
  2. Fry garlic, spring onion and chillies for a few minutes.
  3. Tip in the tomatoes and the prawns, fry for about 5 minutes.
  4. Add the white wine and let it bubble up. Add the rocket leaves and stir until wilted a little.
  5. Drain the pasta when ready, toss in the chilli-prawn pan.

Tips:

  1. I added the heads of the prawns to the sauce for extra flavour.
  2. 8 hot chillies are quite a lot. Use less if you don’t like spicy food. Chillies and prawns go very well together.
  3. Chopping up chillies can make your fingers feel very hot. Either chop up very quickly, or protect your fingers with gloves or plastic film. (I did none of the above then I stupidly took out my contact lenses – it really stung my eyes!!!! Don’t try it!)
  4. Sunblush tomatoes are made in this way: Preheat the oven to 220C. Cut cherry tomatoes into half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon dried thyme and 30 ml olive oil. Put tomatoes in the oven, immediately turn off oven. Leave them in the oven overnight or for a day without opening the oven door. This intensifies the tomato flavour. I totally fall in love with it!

The dish smelt so good that I couldn’t wait to eat. I forgot to take a picture of the dish. Anyway, I will make it again and I will upload a photo of the dish when I make it next time. : )

If you are interested in other recipes in the Nigella Lawson recipe book, just go the library and borrow it. After all, we pay taxes and public library is one of the few public facilities that we actually use!


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How to stay happy in a relationship (3):Be Loyal

February 19th, 2010 by Anna

虎年忌木。Tiger + Woods,對配偶不忠,定必身敗名裂,大凶!

It seems so obvious that loyalty is the backbone of a relationship。個個人結婚時都立誓要從一而終,只願一生愛一人。但事實上,不忠的男女又真的有千千萬萬。每年都不知有多少段婚姻是因為有第三四五者而破裂。Why?

我估要解答why,可先從why not想起。

不知道大家有没有同感,尋覓對象是一個很費勁的過程,又要make sure自己attractive,又要去social,務求可以在最優質的環境吸引到最高水準的perfect match。拍拖分手再拍拖,都幾傷心傷神。千辛萬苦找到了Mr/Mrs Right,settle down就不用再出去覓食,可以將energy focus on other things。Why bother to find other people outside of the relationship?

找個對象難,找到了,要經營維繫一段關係更難。兩個人相處時,總會有不同的意見和處事方法,要一段時間去互相了解,互相磿合。有些couple天生一對,可能花less effort,但很多couple都會要一段頗長的時間互相遷就,繼而慢慢改變,可能會改變到習慣了對方的方式而忘記了自己正在遷就。這個過程,不是每一對都可以pass,未能過關的會break up,然後又返回尋覓對象的stage。所以找到一個可以快樂地一齊生活的人,就不應輕易放手,心思思去試下外面還有没有更好的人選。

兩個人一齊長久了,總會遇上風浪挫折。我們就是從這些難關中成長起來,感情因而變得成熟。一段成熟的關係,有過去,有將來。反之,婚外情没有過去,没有將來。

Morally人類是mate for life。當然現今社會mating與lifetime commitment已不完全有關係。但大致上,我們還是相信一夫一妻制度,婚姻是不容許第三者介入。因此,如果你要容許有第三者,你就要接受你的老婆或老公有權walk away。為了一時之快而放棄花了無限心思和時間去經營的關係,計落好唔抵。咁蝕底的事,理智的人又點會做呢?

所以想來想去,我想不到disloyal的好處,就不如stay loyal啦。Put it this way聽落好passive,但就是這麼簡單的公程式。Loyalty = Stability,達到 equilibrium state,最平衡最安心的境界。

我不相信所有對配偶不忠的人都是喪心病狂失去常性的蠢人。我估總會有一些理性的聰明人,想過計過之後會覺得不忠好,選擇不忠。暫時我都未試過有一刻有這樣的conclusion,所以不能理解。有時有些事想不明白,對我,對我的marriage,未嘗不是一個blessing呀。


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Brunei – Practical Information

February 19th, 2010 by Anna

Planning a trip to Brunei is easy. I share with you in this blog some practical tips when planning a trip to Brunei.

Travel books

Brunei is not big in tourism, there is only limited tourist information on the country. I bought a pdf version of the Brunei chapter on the Lonely Planet website, which costs me only US$1.75. It provides sufficient information to plan the trip so I didn’t read the Borneo Lonely Planet guide.

Flight

Royal Brunei Airline codeshares with Dragonair and  flies direct to Bangar Seri Begawan. I booked my ticket on Royal Brunei Airline’s website, which mysteriously costs less than the Dragonair flight, even though they actually are the same codeshare flight. It costs me only $1800 for the air ticket (including taxes and charges), while it usually costs more than $3000. Just keep checking until you find dates that have cheaper flights if you are flexible. Flight duration is 3 hours, but flight times are not that good. Departure flight leaves HK around 3pm. Return flight leaves BSB around 11am. So there is not much you can do on the first and last days of the trip apart from flying.

Hotel

MUST STAY at the Empire Hotel. I stayed in Sheraton and went to visit another 5-star hotel Rizqun Hotel. Empire Hotel is so much better than the other two 5 star hotels, but doesn’t cost much more. Empire Hotel is further away from the city centre, but it is served by public bus. It is worth spending the extra time to travel to the Empire Hotel. The sheer extravagance of the hotel makes it a tourist attraction in its own right.

For budget travelers, 3-star hotel costs around HK$400 a night. However, smoking is very common in Brunei, so don’t be too upset if your room smells of cigarette smoke. You get what you pay for.

Visa

Visas are required for HKSAR and BNO passport holders. For single entry tourist visa application, bring your flight confirmation, passport and 2 photos. Multiple tourist visa application has to be supported by itinerary of the exact dates and reasons for leaving and returning to Brunei. I found it too inflexible and did not bother with it. Visa application form can be downloaded from www.mfa.gov.bn. The Brunei visa office is in Lippo Centre, Admiralty. Phone: 25223794. Visa application hours: Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 12:00 noon.

Money and cost

I exchanged Brunei money at Frankie Exchange at Worldwide House in Central. It is the only money changer I can find that carries Brunei money. ATM is common in BSB, so you may withdraw money from ATM when you get there.

The cost of things in Brunei is slightly cheaper than Hong Kong, but more expensive than Malaysia and Thailand. Credit cards are accepted in hotels. No need to bring too much cash.

Local Transport

It costs B$1 (HK$5.4) to travel on public bus, which are clean and similar to mini-van in Hong Kong. Taxis are disproportionately overpriced. There is no metre taxi and fares have to be agreed before getting in. Depending on where you get the taxi, it costs B$10 (HK$54) to B$20 (HK$108) for a 10 minute journey.

Food

Food at local restaurants is good value and tasty. Restaurants serve a mixture of Malay, Indian and Chinese style food. We didn’t have a bad meal in all the local restaurants that we sampled. On the contrary, food at the Empire Hotel is disappointing, even though the price is 5 times that of local restaurants. Anyone who plans to stay at the Empire Hotel as a resort and does not plan to go to the city centre should bear this in mind.

Alcohol

No alcohol is sold in Brunei. Before I went, I thought this would offer a good chance to detox for a few days without alcohol. However, if I were to go again, I would bring a bottle of wine with me. I missed sipping chilled white wine when I was sitting at the sea facing balcony of my beautiful room at the Empire Hotel.

Dress Code

Generally men and women do not wear shorts, even though it is 30C. Tourists are more relaxed but I would recommend modest dress in the city centre. I only wore my swimwear and sleeveless top inside hotels. I wore a pair of shorts on the boat ride from BSB to Bangar. The man in front of me kept staring at my legs which made me very uneasy……

Sightseeing

There are many mosques in BSB. Non-Muslims may visit the inside of mosques outside of prayer times. Since they pray so many times a day, plan your visit time well. There are clear signs to remind you to take off shoes before entering mosques and museums.

Many mosques and museums are closed on Thursdays and Fridays (their weekend). It works perfectly for us to go to Brunei on our weekends because it does not coincide with their weekends.

Tropical Rainforest

Brunei has one of the most pristine tropical rainforest in the world. The famous canopy walk in Ulu Temburong National Park takes you above the emergent tree level and offers a great view of the forest. However, it is rather pricey to get to the national park. The park can only be reached by boat and can only be arranged with a local tour. Day tour from BSB costs B$100 (HK$540) per person and staying overnight in the national park costs B$245 (HK$1300) per person. I cannot imagine the experience to be much different to what Malaysia offers across the border at a much more reasonable price.

To sum up my impression of Brunei in a few words: eye-opening and culturally interesting.

Brunei is different to all other Asian countries. It is an oil-rich country, but wealth cannot be seen at the street level. People dress modestly and drive really old cars. There is not a big disparity between rich and poor because 70% of the workforce work for the government. People are well-mannered, friendly, helpful and content.

Despite its unspoilt rainforest unmatched anywhere in the world and interesting Muslim culture and architecture, I don’t think Brunei is everyone’s cup of tea.

I would recommend Brunei to people:

- who have already been to most parts of South East Asia and are looking for some different experience

- who are interested in flora and fauna in rainforest, particularly for those who enjoy remoteness and tranquility

I would NOT recommend Brunei to people:

- who find it essential to enjoy a holiday with a few alcoholic drinks, especially in hot climates.

- who are looking for luxury. Even at the Empire Hotel, the quality of food is not that high. Resorts in Sabah are much better.

- who want a beach holiday. Beaches in Brunei are brown in colour, unlike the white sandy beaches in Thailand.

So if you ask me, is Brunei worth visiting? Definitely yes! Would I go again? Probably not.


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汶萊(2010年2月4日)

February 17th, 2010 by Anna

最後一個full day in Brunei,由Empire Hotel搬去市中心的Sheraton,the only international five star hotel in Brunei。我之前住過世界各地不少Sheraton,所以都知what to expect,但我真的taken by surprise,這是我住過最醜樣的Sheraton,都不知何來五星級!個泳池細到似魚缸,都幾失望。香港有不少平一點的旅行團不住Empire Hotel而住Sheraton,真是天淵之別,千萬不要揀不住Empire Hotel的旅行團呀!

BSB是一個很unique 的亞洲首都,没有大城市的感覺。因為蘇丹不准許有高樓高過清真寺,所以最高的buildings都只是十幾層。我們熟悉的銀行都exist in BSB, Standard Chartered, HSBC, Citibank,全部都有亞拉伯文名,都幾得意。

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走在街上,是感受不到汶萊的財富。街上的車都很舊,是舊到不會在香港見到的。人們衣著十分樸素,我没有見到人穿名牌。街上的人我看不出他們富有,但就感受到大部份人都生活安定,個個人都面帶笑容。去了幾日,未見過beggar or poor people,是少有的Asian city。地方sanitise到似Sinagpore,但比Sinagpore有character。

在city行下映下相,主要interest是水上村Kampong Ayer。對岸看來似木屋的urban slump,居然住有很多原居民,他們不是窮人,而是真的喜歡住在那環境的水上人家。政府甚至會在水上興建新的公共房屋去滿足本地人的taste。來往Kampong Ayer靠小小的木船,條河very busy。我們一走到去河邊已經有很多船夫來叫我們去對岸參觀,asking price 我相信是local price 的十倍。但好在他們一點都不煩,會take no as an answer。我覺得汶萊人都幾laidback and friendly。

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黃昏時份去到首都最旺的Gadong區。因為是星期四,亦即是汶萊weekend,所以特別多人多車,周圍都是車driving around looking for car parking space,似乎揾車位的車比停泊的車還要多,全市的人都集中在幾條街。Gadong有一個shopping mall,亦是up up dup dup,只適合參觀,没吸引的東西好買。Gadong最旺的是outdoor market,有好多個food stall,主要賣燒烤food,大煙到癲。攪笑地同一個market不遠亦都有賣衫,那些衣服一定一大陣燒烤味,水洗都唔清!我都有買燒雞翼食,同香港的没有多大分別。我見到很多人在Gadong買takeaway,local人都十分之enjoy market food。

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晚上回到酒店,就去試下Sheraton個spa,做了一個鐘頭massage。Spa room是又酒店房改建,不覺得luxurious or specially comfortable,massage手勢就好好。因為連續晒了幾日,個身都晒到乾裂,做個massage,成身滑晒!


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汶萊(2010年2月3日)

February 16th, 2010 by Anna

天未光,guesthouse 就被對面清真寺好大聲的prayer broadcast嘈醒。洗唔洗呀?真的有需要未天光就咁大聲祈禱嗎?一點都没有照顧到非回教徒的感受!

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我們坐船回到首都,然後就去參觀Royal Regalia Museum, 我是第一次入museum要除鞋! 裏面收藏蘇丹從世界各國收到的禮物和他在登基和出巡時用過的物品。展館頗大,display得好好。在未有Microsoft之前,汶萊蘇丹是全世界最有錢的人,所以展品中有不少奢華的真金的衣服和用具。眾多由外國送給蘇丹的禮物中,没有發現由Ireland送的。難怪,蘇丹是回敎徒,不飲酒,不會去pub,how to talk over a pint?

之後我們回到第一晚住的酒店拿取我們left behind没有帶去Bangar的行李,再去曾志偉介紹的七星級酒店Empire Hotel。 我們問酒店個staff how to get to Empire Hotel,她說没有public bus,連去附近的巴士都没有,只可以坐taxi,然後很快就幫我們call taxi。來到的車是一個private local tour的車,收費B$30,巴士只是B$1一個人咋。後來我們去到Empire Hotel,人地大大隻字列出public bus schedule,正正在hotel門口落車。Very not impressed那個幫我們call車的hotel staff講大話。雖然是石油有錢國家,人民生活無憂,但都一樣有貪心人揾遊客笨。防不勝防!

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一入去Empire Hotel,我就開始不停地哇哇聲叫。Lobby的雲石柱有53米,即有成19層樓高,望海的落地大玻璃似大型國際機場多過酒店。酒店房超大間,全部都有人手織的carpet,toilet勁大,採用2cm厚的意大利雲石。酒店有9個泳池,要1200萬公升水去fill up。 眼望四周都是真金和頂級雲石,樣樣都blow up in size,實在太誇張!我覺得最不可思議的,是這間佔地18公頃的酒店,本來是蘇丹個弟弟建造給自己和親友自用的行宮,花費了11億美元!後來蘇丹弟弟因為過份濫用公帑被放逐到外國,才將行宮開放為酒店。有人話去汶萊不住Empire Hotel,不如不去。I agree!

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酒店有東西兩個beach,西面看日落一流,那一望無際的海岸線,看着天色由藍色變到橙色變到紅色,好靚!不知原因,同一天空,但香港是看不到這種天色的。

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Photo displayed at hotel

Photo displayed at hotel

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