Ecoteer Perhentian Project

As much as I want to update regularly, life has been really busy on this island. Even so, I feel really happy to do even more for the community here. I am not saying I am working like a slave 7 days per week but there are just so much to do at the start of the project this year that it makes sense to sacrifice the days off. All I can say is working is enjoying over here. After being here for almost 4 months, one thing for sure, I have turned darker by each day being under the hot sun. From being a stranger in this village in the beginning to being close friends with the locals, I can buy stuffs at a local price or get free food/drinks sometimes, I hear kids calling me Kak Seh Ling (Sister Seh Ling) wherever I go. Although the kids can be a pain in the ass at times, they are still like angels in my heart! I have the opportunity to know a lot of people from different organisations as community and conservation work involves many.

Perhentian Island Village

As the Project Leader, I continued the work that the past staff and volunteers had been doing. I owe a big thank to them for building up this nice and comfy Ecoteer House. With a complete base in the village, year 2012 is the time to do more projects for the locals. I am really grateful to have a good team and volunteers helping me throughout all the activities!

Ecoteer House

Implementing most of the projects at Perhentian is a challenge but I believe we can make it! Currently we have started the following projects and there will be more coming up!

DIKIR BARAT PERFORMANCE

My first experience to the school children was teaching them Dikir Barat. When I first visited the school with Dan and got to know the headmaster and teachers, they asked us for a favour to teach a performance. ASTRO was coming to the school to film about ‘Sekolahku Hebat’ which means my school is the best! Luckily I used to learn different traditional dances while I was younger. It was very common to perform during international camps. I taught 18 Standard 6 students how to do Dikir Barat. Right from the beginning where they couldn’t even remember the moves to the day they actually performed it, I could see how much effort they had put in. I was really proud of them and most importantly they had fun!

Dikir Barat Performance for ASTRO’s Sekolahku Hebat

SCHOOL CLUBS

We run an English Club on Wednesday for Standard 5 and 6 students. Each lesson was a challenge as the kids are hyperactive! The hardest part is to ensure that they really learn and remember what we are teaching them as all they ever do the whole time is having fun, talking and laughing! The last lesson, we had 38 kids in the class!

English Club

Besides, we also have an Ecoteer Club (Environmental Club) every Friday morning to educate them about environmental issues and create awareness among the younger generation. We taught about recycling, green energy, food web…etc. I doubt the kids really remember everything but they always attend as they have fun learning and doing arts and crafts.

Ecoteer Club

Recently, we just started Eco-Snorkel Club to educate the students of the do’s and don’t's during snorkelling. Most of the boys here are strong swimmers, yet at the same time they have a habit to touch marine life. We teach them to put on a life jacket and take care of the mask and snorkel at all time. We also teach them the names of fishes in English, at the same time learning the names in Malay!

Eco-Snorkel Club

AMBASSADORS

We had also chosen 12 Environmental Ambassadors from the school, aged 10 and 11 years old. They will be the role models to other students. They will engage in most of our educational and environmental activities, such as recycling, composting, gotong-royong and eco-snorkelling. They will also have the opportunity to mix and communicate with our volunteers in English, which provides them a good exposure.

Ecoteer Ambassadors

SCHOOL CAMPS

There are no school clubs during school holidays but we conduct school camps for the kids. The first one was in March and it was fun! It was more like an educational, interactive and fun camp. We had 30+ students who attended. They did sand castles, spelling games, obstacle games, flag design, beach clean…etc. It was really hectic during that two days and all of us did not have enough sleep but it was worth it! The next one will be held this coming June!

First School Camp

COMPOSTING

Besides school activities, we do composting. The whole point is to encourage the locals to start separate their organic waste from non-organic waste. When I first arrived here in February, the sight of rubbish at every corner of the village was very disturbing. The problem wasn’t just the ignorance of the locals but there is no dump site here. There is no proper waste management system. During the monsoon season, pretty much from November until March, all the rubbish stay in the village. The usual dump sites were full with black plastic bags. The amount of waste produced in 4 months period was tremendous and the smell was unbearable. Things only improve in April when the contract started where cargo ships actually collect all these waste from the dump sites and ship them out to mainland. Local ladies are hired as cleaner to clean the village. Although the cleanliness has improved, many still have the habit of throwing rubbish everywhere and also into the ocean. Thanks to the Association of Perhentian Islands, a composting machine was placed in the village. The school host the machine now. We walk around the village with the wheelbarrow and collect organic waste everyday to put them into the machine. The waste is broken down into fertilizer after 48 hours, using enzymes. Not many actually understands the reason to composting. We are starting  to educate the ambassadors and they have been helping us to collect waste lately.

Composting

VILLAGE / BEACH CLEAN

Gotong-royong means everyone in the village come and help to do something. However, after being here just a short while, I noticed how hard it is to actually get the villagers to do any clean up. Instead we have always done it with the school kids. Each time we went for gotong-royong, we taught the kids to separate tins, glass and plastic bottles. However, no matter how often we did it, there is still rubbish everywhere. It is really important to instill in the locals not to throw or burn the rubbish! It would not happen immediately but hopefully in a long run, they would actually take care of the environment and start throwing rubbish into bins!

Beach Clean

RECYCLING

The hardest part about recycling is to get all the recycle waste out of the island. Before the cargo ships start collecting waste in April, there was almost no way of bringing waste out other than paying for a boat transfer which costs a lot. We contacted some recycling companies but we still need to find a way to ship these waste to the jetty at mainland and they would only come and collect if the waste is at least 100kg. Lately we met a Bangladesh man who comes to the village and collects recycled items. We have been doing beach and village clean with the kids and all this while we have been storing everything under our wooden house. It is good to know that we have a way to dispose all of it. We are going to start a recycling competition in the school to encourage the school kids to recycle and hopefully it will develop into a good habit.

GARDENING

Outside of Ecoteer House, we have a garden where we plant herbs and vegetables. Although it is just a small area but managing it does take lots of effort. If we do not sweep the fallen leaves and pull out weeds, the garden looks like a growing jungle. I do not have much experience in gardening actually and it has never really been my thing. The first time I ever help to clear a garden was when I was in Swiss. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it because unlike in Malaysia, I did not sweat at all after a few hours outside. Gardening in such a hot weather in Malaysia is exhausting. Before I realise, I am already soaked wet and sweat just keeps dripping off my face. Besides our own small garden, we are growing a community garden which is probably twice or more the size. Thanks to Pak Din, who allows us to use his land to build a garden. The garden is in the jungle by the hill side. We need to hike up a bit to the garden. It took months to clear up an area in the jungle to even start planting. After all the hard work and lots of sweat from so many volunteers, we finally have a clear piece of land for the garden. Initially, it seemed impossible to start a garden in a jungle but now I can actually envision a garden there soon!

Community Garden

 HOUSE AND MURAL PAINTING

We also do basic construction work in the village. Besides, painting Ecoteer house, we had also painted one of the villager’s house with the help of students from USM. The work get done quickly when we have enough manpower. We are going to paint another four more houses, hopefully before Malay Raya so that they get to celebrate the new year with newly painted houses!

Ecoteer House Painting

House Painting by USM

At the same time, we also painted and mosaic the old school pond. When I first saw the school pond, it was covered by moss and had been left unused for a very long time because the pond was leaking. This is one of the projects that had taken us a very long time to finish. We first scrubbed off all the moss from the surface and clean the pond. Thankfully, a lot of the school children helped out. It actually took us two days to finish cleaning it. Before the first group started painting, we painted a layer of undercoat. Then we painted the background and different marine life. Lastly was mosaicing the tiles. It took exactly about one month to finish as it took up a lot of time to mosaic the bottom of the pond. The school pond is looking really nice now! Great job done by by Ecoteer’s local and foreign volunteers, USM, Monash University, STAR, FUZE and GroupOn.

School Pond Painting and Mosaicing

WESTERN COOKING COURSE

We also teach the cooks from local stalls and cafes, as well as housewives some Western recipes, with the hope that they can add more recipes onto their menu. So far we had taught Schnitzel, pumpkin soup and meatballs. Although only 3 ladies showed up for each lesson, they all enjoyed cooking with us! Thanks Jill and Nat for being the main chefs while I was mostly doing the translation.

Western Cooking Course

VILLAGE TOUR

When new volunteers arrive, we do a village tour to show them around the village. It is not a big village but to actually tour around the village, including walking up the community garden, it sometimes take up more than an hour! There are no vehicles here, except for a few bikes. The only ‘car’ they drive is the wheelbarrow. We have one Ferrari and Alpha Romeo! It was weird in the first to maneuver a wheelbarrow but it got easier with time.  This village has a primary school, a police hut, a small fire hut, a community hall, a graveyard, a mosque but they are building a new floating mosque, a beach football field, cafes and a few guest houses.

Village Tour

TURTLE AND CORAL TALK

For all of our volunteers, we do a turtle and coral talk. It is a plan to also do the same talk to tourist at different resorts around Perhentain Islands.

Me – Coral Talk and Gareth – Turtle Talk

SNORKEL TRIP / CORAL WATCH

Snorkel trip is always the highlight of the week! Everyone loves being in the ocean and enjoy watching those marine creatures. I have not got bored of snorkelling. Although it has always been the same snorkel sites, snorkelling with different volunteers makes it fun. For all volunteers, we conduct a water confidence session where they learn to put on the life jacket and wear the mask and snorkel. This is to ensure that everyone know what they should and should not do during snorkelling. It is very common to see turtles, blue-spotted rays, black tip reef sharks, clownfish, parrotfish, bumphead parrotfish, triggerfish, squid, butterfly fish, corals, christmas tree worms…etc. Every month, we do Coral Watch once. It is a very simple coral survey by University of Queensland that non-biologists can do. We dive down to the selected coral and match the colour of the coral to a chart and record down the type and colour of the coral. These data will then be uploaded to the website.

Snorkel Trip

MALAY DINNER

Malay dinner is also everyone’s favourite. Nobody would say one malay dinner per week is enough. We get a few housewives to host malay dinner for our volunteers every week so that they could earn some money for their families. It is also a cultural experience for our volunteers as to taste delicious Malay food using their hands while sitting down on the floor in sarongs. I never really knew how to tie a sarong so that it does not fall off but now I’m a pro! Practise makes perfect! Sometimes the volunteers get to play traditional games like congkak with the kids.

Malay Dinner

LEISURE TIME

We all work really hard but at the same time enjoying more! Although we don’t always have the Sunday off, we will have fun whenever we can and wherever we are!

Playing with Kids

Helping Kids with School Work

Chilling on the Beach

Sunbathing

Sleeping on Hammock

Kayaking

Partying at Long Beach

This pretty much sums up my current life at Perhentian Island. It may look like all fun but that’s what matters the most. Be happy working! Not forgetting Ecoteer initiation jetty jump! All volunteers would have to make this first step to overcome the fear of height and jump off the village jetty. It took me quite some time for the first time to finally have the guts to jump off with Jolene and Dan! It is still interesting to see every volunteer jumping off with different acts and expressions. The best is of course the children! They are truly beach boys – represent!!!

Jetty Jumping

FIRE AT PERHENTIAN!

Two days had passed since the fire burned down two of our neighbour’s houses. Everything seems very surreal now but every time I opened the front door of Ecoteer House, the remains of the houses reminded me of what had happened just two nights ago.

I was lying on the floor with my laptop, checking information of our new volunteer with Natalie and Jill. When I decided to go to sleep, I heard the sound of fireworks. I just questioned casually whether or not there was a firework celebration at Perhentian Island. I walked to the backdoor and I was shocked to see our neighbour’s house in flame while Nat was looking at it from the front door. We shouted for Jill and Jill started switching off all the lights. I shouted for Kak Ani, my neighbour, to inform her about the fire.

Before I realised, both Jill and Nat were out of the house. I quickly grabbed my belongings and I couldn’t find my laptop anywhere. I shouted for Jill and she tried to show me where it was. It was dark in the house where I didn’t even know where she meant but eventually I found it. I heard my neighbour shouted ‘Seh Ling, get out of the house first, get out first!!!’ I was in shorts when I raced out from the house. I could feel the heat and the fire was consuming the house in a fast rate. In my mind, I was thinking if the two trees outside of our house were caught in fire, it was just a matter of time our house would be on fire too.

I didn’t really know what to do. I called the policeman but nobody picked up. I called the marine park personnel and it went to the voicemail. I called a school teacher and he said he was nearby. A few villagers started spraying water using hose but the fire was out of control. I managed to call Dan and informed him what had happened. He said we had a fire extinguisher in the house so I ran back in to grab it and gave it to a guy to use it. Nat, Jill and I decided to leave the scene as there was nothing much we could do.

We gathered at the end of the village at Pok Din’s house. I decided to go back as I was really worried about Afiq, the boy who lived in the house in fire. When I saw the fire, I did hear someone screaming ‘Tolong! Tolong!’ and I really prayed it wasn’t Afiq. Jill made up her mind to go back too as she felt that she needed to do something, not just wait. After I went back, I didn’t see Afiq but a villager told me he was saved out of the house. I knew there was nothing we could do to save the house but I volunteered to get more buckets for the guys. I saw my neighbour’s husband, Abang Sabri while I grabbed a bucket and he warned me not to go near. He instead took the bucket from me and helped out.

When I went back to Jill, I could not find her, instead I bumped into Nat who told me Jill said something but she did not know what. We all ended up searching for each other and luckily we found each other. I told them strictly that we were supposed to follow the emergency protocol whenever there is a fire and stick to it. Regardless of how much I disagree with Jill trying to help to put out the fire, I was touched when Jill said she had to do something after seeing me running into our house which was quite close to the fire and not doing anything. However, I still think we all should not try to put out a fire because we are not trained.

The fire was under control after the firemen came but it took them more than an hour later to reach as they came from mainland. It was almost 1am when they put out the fire. I called my Mum to tell her the situation. She said luckily there was a distance between Ecoteer House and the house on fire. Besides, we had two trees in between and big trees do not get burned up easily. It did not occur to me until later that Shahrul’s and Diana’s house was just beside Afiq’s house. Nat and I went and realised their house was burned down too. Nat and I managed to meet up Afiq’s and Shahrul’s families and it was a relief to know everyone was safe even though I can see their sad faces because of the loss. Personally the most important thing is everyone was safe. Any other things can be replaced.

It was past 3am when I went to bed in sweat as the electric and water was cut off. I was so tired that it did not take long to fall asleep. The vibration from my phone woke me up at 7am something. It was Pavin, asking me if we were alright. Good thing that he called as Jill and I had to take boat out at 8am to pick our new volunteer up. I felt so disoriented from lack of sleep and after what had happened. When I stepped out of the house, there were a few villagers checking out the remains and the owners of the house searching through the remains for any valuable things.

The fire had totally destroyed two houses and all their valuable belongings. In my heart, I told myself I am going to help ALL I can in any way. I am glad a lot of people feel the same way and the government agreed to build them a new house. Hopefully they will be back in their new home soon! Ecoteer will be helping them to raise fund and collect household items through donation.

Afiq's house

Shahrul's and Diana's house

We really appreciate if anyone wants to donate or help in any way!

http://ecoteerresponsibletravel.com/supportacause/

My home for year 2012

As the boat slowed down towards the jetty, I have to admit that the beauty of Perhentian Island captured my heart. I felt warm when the village kids came over to welcome me. They were excited to have foreign faces around the kampung. However, as I walked towards the Ecoteer House, I couldn’t stop noticing rubbish in every corner of the village, partly due to the monsoon but mainly because of ignorance. When the monsoon ends, rubbish will be collected and shipped out to the mianland but during the monsoon season, the villagers will have to burn the rubbish. The first few days were spent cleaning the house. I was really lucky to have the kids, Dan and Lucy to help lighten the workload. Everyone helped out to wash the kitchen and toilet, sweep the compound, rearrange boxes and etc. The feeling of seeing a turtle egg shell under the house was heartbreaking. I was told that many still consume turtle eggs here. I believe the villagers can be educated of the importance of keeping the village clean and protecting the turtles. Ecoteer House is like a playhouse for kids to gather after school. After playing a few board games with them, I realised many cannot read and write, sadly not only English but in their own mother tongue too. At that moment, I knew it is important to improve their language skills, as well as instill environmental awareness. I also had a chance to go snorkelling. Most of the corals were broken and pieces of them were washed ashore. Hopefully as the raining season ends, the corals will start growing. As I sat on a hammock watching the sun set, in my heart I felt that this is a beautiful island and definitely worth all the effort to protect it.

Jetty to Kampung Pulau Perhentian

Bird's eye view of Kampong Pasir Hantu at Perhentian Island

A quick break for local delicacy - Kepok Lekor

Kids enjoying themselves in the house

A kid fetching water from a well

A welcome Malay dinner with our neighbour

Long-awaited snorkelling trip

One of the turtle nesting beaches at Perhentian Islands

A breathtaking view from the hill top

Relaxing while watching sunset at Petani Beach

Milan

We were supposed to stay with Silvia’s family but they were not at home. Therefore, we stayed two extra days in Switzerland. Due to time restraint, we could only afford a one-day trip in Milan. I was not sure about the attractions in Milan. I had always heard people saying that Milan is a good place to shop. My host Dad showed me pictures of him in Milan. Besides Duomo, I found another interesting place that I wanted to go, which is to see ‘The Last Supper’ by Leonardo da Vinci. I searched through many websites to buy the tickets online but I could not get any for the date we would be in Milan. In the end, I booked a half-day tour in Milan, which included a tour to ‘The Last Supper’.

It was sad to bid farewell. Besides, I wasn’t sure when will be the next time I will be seeing my host family again. W took a train to Milan and that journey took us about 4 hours. As we travelled from the North down the South, the weather changed drastically. It was foggy in Zurich but as we headed South, it started to snow heavily. However, as we were near the border of Italy, the weather became sunny. The sunshine welcomed us to Italy! When we reached Milano Centrale, we left our luggages in the locker. The railway station is quite big. There was a market selling food there.

Milano Centrale

We then took the Metro to Cairoli Castello. As I was pressing the touch-screen ticket machine, this Gipsy lady came up and did everything for me. In my head I thought…who is this lady? Why is she wearing like that? Why is she being so helpful? When she tried to grab my money to put into the machine, I sensed something wrong. I inserted the note myself but what I did not expect was for her to grab my change from the machine! At that moment, I felt like being conned! We couldn’t stop talking about that incident for the rest of the day! As we learned through a lesson, we said no to every strangers who brought bracelets or flowers to us. NO!

As we came out of the Metro, we found the tour agency and we were still half an hour early. We went to Castello Sforzesco. From outside, it looked more like a fort. For many years, it has represented a symbol of the power in the hands of the Dukes, as well as of the foreign dominators. Only at the beginning of the 20th century the Castle assumed its distinctive role, becoming a place of culture, which hosted numerous Lombard art collections. The Castle was named after Francesco Sforza, who transformed it into a ducal residence in 1450. There was a big coutyard within the four walls. We did not stay long there and I believed this castle was one of the places we would visit with the tour.

Castello Sforzesco

The first stop of the tour was Teatro alla Scala. Unfortunately, we only had time to visit the museum but not the theater itself. The tour guide told us that we could still use the tour sticker to enter the theater the next day but we would no longer be in Milan by the end of the day. Instead of looking around by ourselves in a museum, not knowing the history or story behind each statue or paiting, being on tour means a tour guide would explain all the important sights. Teatro alla Scala is a world renowned opera house. Most of Italy’s greatest operatic artists, and many of the finest singers from around the world, have appeared at La Scala during the past 200 years. In the past, this theater was a grand architecture but nowadays with modern buildings being built around it, it did not look as grand as it used to be.

Teatro alla Scala

Museo Teatrale

Piazza della Scala

Just directly opposite of Teatro alla Scala, the magnificent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II connects Piazza della Scala with Piazza del Duomo in grand style. Shopping is, and always has been, the Galleria’s main activity, and fashion flagships radiate out from the twin powerhouses of Prada and Louis Vuitton in the centre. The ceiling vaults are decorated with mosaics representing Asia, Africa, Europe and America. At ground level are mosaics of more local concerns, such as the coats of arms of Vittorio Emanuele’s Savoia family, and the symbols of Milan (a red cross on a white field), Rome (a she-wolf), Florence (an iris) and Turin (a bull). All of us spinned twice on our heels on the bull’s privates. The guide told us that is was for good luck.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Tourist spinning on the symbol of Turin

Entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II from Piazza del Duomo

As we came out to Piazza del Duomo, I was captured by the unique and really grand cathedral. I have not seen anything as noble as this. It looked magnificent, especially as the light of the sunset reflected on it. We had the opportunity to go inside as well. Although it was quite dark inside, it did look splendid. There was a ceremony going on while we were there but we did not stay long. I felt it a bit rush but we were on tour and always being in a rush in a norm.

Duomo

Interior of Duomo

Piazza del Duomo

After that, we went to Castello Sforzesco. The sun had almost set when we got there. We had some time to have some snacks to fill our stomachs.

The last stop at Santa Maria delle Grazie was the reason I joined a tour in Milan. The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting created by Leonardo da Vinci. It represents the scene of The Last Supper when Jesus announces that one of his twelve apostles would betray him. The painting measures 450 × 870 cm and covers an end wall of the dining hall at the monastery. It specifically portrays the reaction given by each apostle when Jesus said one of them would betray him. All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news, with various degrees of anger and shock. From left to right, Bartholomew, James and Andrew form a group of three, all are surprised. Judas, Peter and John form another group of three. Judas, the betrayer, is wearing green and blue and is the only one in shadow. Both Jesus and Judas reached out for the same plate. Jesus was in the middle. Thomas, James and Philip are the next group of three. Thomas is clearly upset, James the Greater looks stunned, with his arms in the air. Meanwhile, Philip appears to be requesting some explanation. Matthew, Jude and Simon are the final group of three. Leonardo Da Vinci used an experimental technique, known as Tempera Forte, to paint the Last Supper. This allowed him to paint with more nuances than would be possible with a conventional fresco, but already in 1518 it became clear that this technique led to a fast deterioration of the painting. Opposite Leonardo’s masterpiece is a fresco painted by Donato Montorfano. Only 25 visitors can enter at one time and it is advisable to book the tickets before.

Santa Maria delle Grazie

The Last Supper

We took the Metro back to Milano Centrale and waited for the train to Venice. We bought some bread to eat while waiting for the train. We all slept on the train after a long day!

Sledging in a snowstorm

I thought I would have the chance to snowboard but we went sledging for two days. The second day we went to Hochwang. It was snowing when we left. Unlike Arosa, we had to go up by a ski-lift. It was snowing real bad on the way up. It took approximately 10-15 minutes or maybe more to reach the top. Of all this time going up on a ski-lift, this was the worst one. It was snowing so heavily and the icy cold wind was blowing hard ahead of us. Even with thick gloves, my hands were freezing. I could barely raise my head and look front. Gabi was quite worried for my parents. If both of us felt cold, it must be even colder for my parents, who were not used to winter.

Gabi’s plan was to walk further up to a restaurant and sledge down. It would take us about an hour to walk. However, the weather was not getting any better and she was afraid that it might get worse. After having some hot drinks, we decided not to walk further up but sledge down immediately. We were not sure how clear the visibility was but it was better not to take any risk. It stopped snowing when we sledged down. Gabi went with my Mum, whereas my Dad and I each sledge down on our own. As the snow was thick, it did not hurt even if we fell off. Most of the journey, we had to walk as the snow was very soft and it would not slide down. Even so, both of my parents had fun trying out schlittern for the first time!

Click here to view the video!

The fun of winter

For someone who comes from a tropical country, it is really exciting to see snow of the first time, to feel the texture and the cold biting into the bones and to immerse oneself in a white fairyland. I could still remember how stunned I was to play in the snow for the first time. I believed that was how my Dad felt when he was in Switzerland, surrounded by metres-high snow. Gabi drove us up the mountain so that my parents would have an opportunity to see snow and maybe try skiing. My Dad could not stop taking photos of the snow outside while we were on the way up.

I was glad to see that it was snowing. The last time I came with Victoria, it hadn’t snow yet. Now it was below 0°C. As usual, the temperature in the house was colder and it took time to heat up the house. When I opened the window in the room, I could see thick snow outside. The weather was lovely. Although it was below 0°C, the sun was shining bright and hot above.

After we settled in, we changed and went up to Arosa. Gabi suggested us to go for sledging. My Mum would go on her on one while I would go on one with my Dad. We first had to rent the equipment.

We took a bus up. As usual, it was so crowded and we had to squeezed inside. The bus only drove us halfway up the mountain. We continued walking up. It was quite tiring for my parents, especially my Mum as they were not used to walk so much and every step became heavier when they put on so many layers of clothes. The best part about walking is to enjoy the view as it was breathtaking. It would be different if we had taken the cable car.

Click here to view the video!

When we reached the spot where we could sledge down but we first had lunch. I believed all of us were really hungry. We only went sledging after that. We met our neighbour at the restaurant. Doris and her granddaughter, Lara, sledged down with us. I went down with my Dad and it was not as scary as I thought it would be.

Doris invited us to their place for a quick drink. She has another granddaughter, Gina and she was so cute, smiled a lot too! We did not stay long there as we had to drive back to Peist and prepare dinner. It was a long but definitely fun day!

One day in Lucerne

Lucerne is very popular among tourist who visit Switzerland. I personally find Lucerne very beautiful and I can understand the reason to its fame. Unlike some cities, one gets to see everything there – mountain covered with snow, lake, churches, old bridges, towers…etc. It took us less than an hour to reach Lucerne by train. H0wever, it was raining all the time we were there. Although the weather was pretty bad, the scenery was still amazing! Once we walked out the railway station, there was an arch outside. Most people would stop and take a photo of it, same did we. As we crossed Seebrücke, we could see the famous Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) at the opposite, that was once caught in a fire. As we walked along Schweizerhofquai, far ahead us along the horizon, a faint view of the shape of  mountains appeared dark behind the clouds.

Luzern Bahnhof

Our first stop was Abbey Court Church (Hofkirche), which sits on the site of the first monastery in Lucerne. The impressive main doors are carved with the two patron saints of Luzern. On the left is St. Leger, a French bishop who was blinded with a drill and on the right is St. Maurice, the martyred Roman soldier-saint. The interior design and furniture are almost wholly original Renaissance from the 1630s and 1640s. The church was set admist a lovely Italianate cloister, lined with the graves of Luzerner patrician families.

Abbey Court Church

Carved wooden door of Abbey Court Church

Interior of Abbey Court Church

Then we walked to Museggstrasse. Along the this street, we could see Musegg Wall (Museggmauer), which was constructed between 1370 and 1442, is part of the historic town fortifications that once boasted 30 towers. Today, the remaining wall measures 870 metres, is an average of 9 metres high, 1.5 metres thick and has nine towers.

A part of Musegg Wall

After that we passed through the old town (Altstadt) and came to the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke). It is one of the oldest wooden bridge spanning across the Reuss River, named after St. Peter’s Chapel. It contains a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century but most of them were destroyed in a fire in 1993.

St. Peter's Church at the back

Chapel Bridge

Paintings from the 17th century

After we crossed the bridge, we visited Jesuit Church (Jesuitenkirche). This is one of the most beautiful Baroque church in Switzerland. Today, it is a major tourist attraction and serves as a concert hall while it has become almost irrelevant to local church life from a religious point of view. After that we also visited two other smaller churches in Lucerne.

Jesuit Church

Interior of Jesuit Church

The Mill Bridge (Spreuerbrücke) is also a must visit in Lucerne. The design is similar to the Chapel Bridge but smaller. It also spans across the same river. This bridge, which was constructed in 1408, features a series of medieval-style 17th Century plague paintings by Kaspar Meglinger titled Dance of Death (Totentantz). It has a small chapel in the middle that was added in 1568. At the nearby Mühlenplatz, there was a small water craft work.

Mill Bridge

Paintings of Dance of Death

We walked around the old city before having some snacks at Migros Take Away. The old city is an interesting place to visit. There are lots of shops and the architecture of the houses here is unique.

Town Hall

We were invited to Giulia’s place for dinner. She was a year in Malaysia a few years back. Before we met her up, we quickly walked to have a look at the Lion Monument (Löwendenkmal),  a famous sculpture designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen. Although I had been to Lucerne several times but I had never seen the monument. Therefore, this time I was very persistent in finding it. Lukas Ahorn carved this 10m-long sculpture of a dying lion into the rock face in 1820 to commemorate Swiss soldiers who died defending King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. It was already dark when we got there, thus the pictures did not turn out well. Still I was really happy to finally see it myself.

Lion Monument

Giulia picked us up and drove us to her house, which is about 15 minutes drive away from Lucerne city. Her Dad is Italian and could not speak English very well but could understand us. Her Mum speaks good English. Her brother joined us for dinner too. Her Mum prepared so much Swiss food for dinner, such as Rösti, Fondue, Bratwurst…etc and the food was so delicious, especially the Apfelmus. We planned to leave earlier but it was an interesting dinner and everyone was so engaged in the conversation. It was past 11pm when we left. We could not go back too late as Giulia was driving us and we were going to the mountains early the next day. It was really nice to see her and meet her family! We all had a great time at Lucerne!

A walk around Rümlang and Baden

Rümlang is not big but there is always somewhere to walk around. It is situated very near to the airport. I showed my parents around the village. We walked past the church, community house, banks, grocery stores, restaurants, shops, pubs…etc. Then we walked towards the railway station and crossed under to the other side. We walked across an overhead bridge towards the airport. The weather was very nice. We could even see the mountain covered in snow. It was a nice walk in the suburb.

In the evening, we went to Baden to visit Alissa’s host parents – Odo and Christa. I was really happy to see them again! They still looked the same. We had evening tea before they showed us around Baden. My parents like Baden, it is bigger than Rumlang. It is a city but smaller than Zurich. The scenery is also very nice. Odo fetched us back before dinner time as my host family has prepared dinner for us.

New Year Eve 2011

Rheinfall is a natural attraction that the locals will recommend for a visit if one visits Zurich. It is also the largest waterfall in Europe. I have been there many times. It has never changed but the water level differed. Gabi suggested to bring my parents there for a visit. The weather was quite cold that day and it was also very cloudy, therefore the photos did not turn up nice.

We also visited Munot, a circular 16th century fortification south of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen. It is surrounded by vineyards and serves as the city’s symbol. Today, it is a tourist attraction and hosts various events. Instead of climbing up, Gabi drove us there. I have been there a few times with Alissa and it is a place to have a bird eye’s view of the city.

It is very common to visit Stein am Rhein if you are in Schaffhausen. It is a city famous for its very unique architecture. It was a public holiday and Gabi was afraid that it would be very crowded, therefore we went somewhere else instead. It is a very small town and not very interesting. There was a very old bridge across the Rhein river. We only made a short walk around the town and headed back home.

It was 31st of December 2011. Hence, we had a dinner together, my favourite meal! In the meantime, we watched TV while waiting for the countdown. When the clock struck 12am, we had a toast and watched fireworks around Rumlang.

Zurich, Oerlikon and Uetliberg

Thanks to my friend, Victoria, who visited me a few months back. As I haven’t really visited Zurich for quite some time, it took us three days to visit Zurich city, Oerlikon and Uetliberg because I could not remember the direction. When my parents came this time, I already knew the way to all the places and surprisingly it only took only a day to see everything! Since I have written about Zurich in my previous blog, I will make it short. Unlike my previous visit with Victoria, the weather was lovely this time!

We took a train to Oerlikon, the place where I studied. I showed them the small city and not forgetting the famous spot where people play chess. We also went to my school – Kantonsschule Oerlikon. It was still Christmas holidays so we could not go into the buildings, just looked around the school compound.

After that, we took the tram to Zurich city and visited Landesmuseum, St. Peter Church, Fraumünster, Grossmünster, Zürich Universität, Kinderspital (thanks to Angela as she works there)…etc. We had Kalbsbratwurst and it was delicious! My Dad and I even paid CHF4 each to climb up Grossmünster while my Mum fell asleep while waiting for us. It even snowed that day! My Dad was really excited to be in the snow!

When we took a train to Uetliberg, the weather was pretty bad. Besides, it was getting darker. However, the weather was unexpectedly nice when we arrived! It had stopped raining or maybe snowing and the sky was clear. Even so, the temperature was still cold. The pathway up was covered with snow, thus making it more difficult to walk as it was really slippery. I felt like a really slow turtle…well, better slow than slip and fall. The view was breathtaking from above, even though we didn’t go up the tower.

It was already dark when we left. It was a long but definitely a fulfilling day! The day did not end like that as that very night, the villagers would ring the famous Swiss bells as they walked around the village. It is a annual tradition. Each year a few hosts would volunteer to prepare food and hot drinks for them. Like every year, Gabi was one of the hosts. They came at 2am. I wanted to help my host Mum but I was so tired that I fell asleep and only woke up shortly before 2am. As I slept over at my neighbour, when I came over, Gabi was sleeping so I woke her and my parents up. We prepared everything and waited for them. Even before they arrived, we could already hear the bells ringing from afar. They came and had something to eat and drink. My Dad took a few pictures. A few of them spoke to my parents in English. Before they left, a few of them had to wave a whip into the air. With the right technique and correct amount of strength, it will cause a loud smack in the air. They continued to walk to other parts of the village after that. My parents, especially my Dad, was very excited to experience Swiss tradition! We went to bed after clearing up the place.