First Impressions 第一印象

The coldest welcome in my life so far ...
在慕尼黑的第一個感覺：冷

26-02-2006

Munich is already filled with snow on my arrival ...
第一天已是遍地白雪……

04-03-2006

... and becomes totally covered after a week,
一星期後積雪更深，連樹也變成白色。

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Travel advisories 旅遊忠告

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issues travel advisories for all countries in the world, and the list is nothing short of exhaustive. Obviously Hong Kong’s perpetual air pollution gets a mention (and it touched the nerves of the local media), as well as the haze that descends upon Singapore between July and October. But Australian major cities are not totally spotless in regard to air pollution. Last Saturday I was quite surprised by the reduced visibility on the roads when driving under the broad daylight of noon. Since it was not supposed to be a foggy day, the only possibility was a haze or smog of some kind. I never thought that it could occur on a day with lighter traffic like the weekend. The lab where I am working now is located on the 8th floor of a hospital building adjoining the main building of the research institute, and we have to go through an outdoor stairway whenever we want to enter or exit the main building. The stairway offers an unhindered vi...

A nosy foodie 隔鄰飯香

My colleagues usually bring their own lunch to work and we gather in the tea room for lunch every day. When I have lunch together with the Chinese group, we all like to peek into each other’s lunch boxes, sing praises of each other’s food and exchange a few cooking tips. But when I sit with the locals, we hardly pay attention to, let alone comment on, other people’s food (although I still carry the bad habit over from the Chinese group!) I guess that’s partly because there isn’t so much to talk about on sandwiches or the standard fare from the hospital canteen, and partly because it’s probably only kids who are so nosy about other people’s food! One of my colleagues is a mother of two and both children are attending primary school. In their school, pupils are only allowed to have lunch in classrooms under supervision so that they won’t be able to swap food and eat something wrong in so doing (especially food that triggers allergy or other undesirable reactions). With so many people cro...

When autumn settles 秋高氣爽

Finally the weather has stopped being temperamental in October, and is giving us as many fine days as we ask for. The increasing chilliness in the morning air, however, is a reminder that beautiful autumn days like these don't necessarily last long! The weather was still rather warm for the first few days of the month. On 1st October, my colleagues and I took an early finish at work and went for the Oktoberfest. While it was not as jam-packed and crazy as the opening day , it was still not easy to find a table. We sat outside during the day time and switched indoors in the beer tent after dark. The atmosphere inside was simply infectious. We all entered a state of exhilaration in no time, as we saw a sea of people standing on the benches, dancing and chanting to the music of the band. It finally dawned on me how people could spend a whole day at the Oktoberfest. Beer, it seems, is the best form ecstasy for many people in Western societies! The cooler weather in the following weeken...

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