VirtualTourist Member Krystynn
| Page Views: 103,618 | The Travel Journal Of A 21st Century Nomad ;-) by Krystynn - last update: Feb 17, 2008 |
What A Beautiful World We Live In... Above: Photos lovingly "glued" together with love - from yours truly (ahem!).
A collage of my travels around the world.
See if you can spot the different places, monuments & landmarks... And if you've guessed correctly, give yourself a big pat on the back.
You deserve it. ;-D
What a beautiful world we live in!
PLEASE DO NOT USE (c) COPYRIGHT PHOTOS WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.
Sono una ragazza che ha scoperto da poco la passione per Viaggio, Lettura, Scrittura, Movies e Scrapbooking.
Penso di essere stata fortunata perche' ho incontrato nel mio percorso molte persone con cui ho instaurato un bel rapporto e che mi hanno insegnato molte cose.
Sono tifosa del AC Milan (il calcio). Mi piace Paolo Maldini, Ricardo Kaka e Andriy Shevchenko! Non parlo molto italiano. Mi piace tanto l'Italia! Ciao!
I LOVE WATCHING 'THE AMAZING RACE' AND "THE AMAZING RACE ASIA"! Congratulations to the super-calm Team Singapore, Adrian & Collin for winning The Amazing Race Asia Season 2! Adrian is the only handicapped person ever to win the Amazing Race! You did not let your disability get to you and together with your race partner, Collin - you BEAT THE HUNKS FROM PHILLIPPINES - MARC NELSON & ROVILSON FERNANDEZ!!
Sorry Marc and Rovilson. You guys are this season's sizzling hot favorites with great team spirit and a wicked sense of humor... but I am a Singaporean by birth... so gotta support my home country ;-) Oh, and you guys certainly over-dozed on the dummy pills in Cape Town (South Africa) and on the final pitstop in Singapore! What a shame. You consistently came in 1st in 8 legs from Asia to Australia and in Europe... But at the last leg, why... oh WHY on earth did you let that Rovilson do the last flag challenge when you were obviously better, Marc???
Check out the official website of The Amazing Race Asia and the bio-datas of this season's worthy underdogs - Team Singapore and the entertaining hunks from Team Philippines.
Highlights of the entire Season 2: It was ingenious of Rovilson to dance impromptu at a strip club in Germany to raise much-needed cash on the race. Psss...The Amazing Race contestants from North America - TAKE NOTE! This season's (Season 2) Amazing Race Asia is by far the BEST in the ENTIRE Amazing Race series (incl. North America and South America editions). You guys and gals showed what real team spirit is all about. Instead of ***ing and being jealous of other teams, you focused on the important things.
I was also supporting the all-gal Eurasian team from Thailand - PAULA TAYLOR and NATASHA MONKS. You gals exhibited great team spirit and calmness at the make-or-break leg in Prague (Czech Republic). What a shame you were let down by those Eurasian sisters from Malaysia - VANESSA and her impulsive sister, PAMELA CHONG ...who eventually went on to win 2nd place in the Race. I find Team Malaysia a bit chaotic at times.. Oops, no offence meant. Hope I don't get banned from entering Malaysia now ;-)
Congratulations to the Amazing Race producers for choosing the perfect mix of contestants from all over Asia.
And now, I am supporting my adventure loving gal pal who will be impressing the producers during the auditions of The Amazing Race Asia Season 3. She works as a Regional Director of a world famous logistics MNC with its HQ based in Germany by day whilst training hard by night to enter the race!
You can watch a recap of the Amazing Race Asia on YOUTUBE.COM. And oogle at how handsome Marc is ;-) You owe me one for this, dude.
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| HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 SINGAPORE |
|  | FAQ (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS): Where am I from?
I was born in SINGAPORE.... the best country in the world to live in...besides Italy, of course!. Biased? Me? :-D
What languages do I speak/ write?
ENGLISH, CHINESE (Mandarin, Cantonese & I understand other Chinese dialects), ITALIAN... and a little FRENCH, MALAY and a wee bit of Hindi (an Indian dialect... thanks to my love for watching Bollywood movies!).
My favorite cuisines?
Everything and anything - CHINESE, JAPANESE (looove sashimi!), THAI, INDONESIAN, ITALIAN and.... Shepherd's Pies!
My pet peeves?
I find people who enjoy punctuating their sentences with swear words very challenging and nauseating. This includes those who are easily jealous, competitive, aggressive and argumentative. It is not in my nature to raise my voice and shout, or argue back.
Describe the friends I hang out with?
Fun-loving yet serious. Compassionate, encouraging and confident (in their own identities) trail-blazing individuals. Note: Trail-blazers in their areas of expertise (job/home/personal life). Would rather spend their time and money contributing to a good cause vs gossiping or talking ill of another person.
Do I like sports?
Why yes, of course! I simply loooove SOCCER. My fave team is - AC MILAN (MILAN to their extremely loyal fans).
And who are my favorite sports idols?
- Paolo Maldini (Il Capitano of Milan)
- Kaká (AC Milan)
- Andriy Shevchenko (ex-AC Milan; Current club: Chelsea)
- Fabio Cannavaro (Italy Captain who recently won the FIFA World Footballer of the Year 2006 and the Ballon D'or European Footballer of the Year 2006. Congratulations, il capitano!).
And congratulations to Kaka from AC Milan for bagging all major awards this year incl. European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year award! Woohoo!
Do I have any other hobbies?
Of course! I know I'm boring... but certainly not that boring. ;-) I love to TRAVEL and discover quaint villages & rustic towns, big 'metropolis' cities and ancient ruins dotting the planet. I also love to READ, WRITE, enjoy SCRAPBOOKING and WATCH MOVIES (which I seem to do ALOT these days) ;-D What are my favorite colors?
Ah... I know what you are thinking. You want to gauge just how boring I am now huh? No sweat. I love BLACK and RED [that's why I'm a huge Rossoneri (Milan) fan!]... and if I'm really in the mood, I love LIME GREEN. Must be becuz I love calamansi lime! haha.
My favorite drinks?
- Perrier
- Watermelon juice
- Pineapple juice
- Mango juice
What is my ultimate wish for 2007/2008?
That AC MILAN will win the Scudetto (in Italy's Serie A) NEXT year.
My favorite "toys" for this season?
I am a thoroughbred gadget girl cum technophile; equally comfortable watching a fashion show and attending an IT convention showcasing the latest gadgets in town. My proudest possession this season? My Apple Classic 160GB Ipod!! And my Nokia Smartphone. Sassy and cool. Been reading my e-books on my Nokia.... Sono molto contento.
My other favorite toys (since I was kid) is my extensive doll collection bought from the different countries I've visited, including those bought from Franklin Mint (Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana) and my designer Barbie collection. This also includes my extensive Paper Dolls collection (some uncut). Please don't buy just any doll for me (as what some nice folks here on VT have done). I am very fastidious in what I place in my collection. No offence intended.
P.S. I do sell my Dolls and Paper Dolls - but only to interested doll collectors (like myself) and to the highest bidder.
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| VIEW FROM MY OFFICE (S'PORE): IS THAT A TWISTER?! |
| | What's my fave TV shows?
I am a BIG fan of spy thrillers and comedies. Hint, Hint.
First on my list is 'CRIMINAL MINDS".... an awesome, awesome TV series! I started watching it during mid-Season 2 and am now watching Season 1 on DVD. I've never seen another show quite like Criminal Minds on TV before! So authentic. I love the entire enemble cast especially the guy who plays the goofy genius Dr Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), SSA Morgan (Shemar Moore) and the lovely JJ. The new guy - Joe Montegna who joined the team in Season 3 is also as good as the previous actor who left the series. I got all my colleagues hooked on the TV series too ;-)
Next on my list of favorite TV shows are "24" (starring Kiefer Sutherland);
"NCIS"; "CSI MIAMI" and "Hannah Montana"! What? Did I just hear you laughing aloud at me? Yeah, blame it on my god-children and little cousins for introducing the Disney TV series to me. I sat down with them one boring Saturday afternoon to watch it and actually enjoyed the experience! Way too cool... ;-))
Shows that I used to enjoy watching but have now disappointed me beyond belief are - Heroes, Prison Break and Grey's Anatomy. When a show becomes too slow-moving and melodramatic... they've lost me (read: Heroes and Prison Break). And I can't take whiny doctors or... pseudo-doctors (read: Grey's Anatomy). Whatever.
If you're a fan of "Desperate Housewives", I don't think we'll ever be good friends. It's a silly show that glorifies infidelity and sorry, that's not my cup of tea.
The movies I've seen lately?
Too many to name...
My favorite movies of all-time?
CINEMA PARADISO - an Italian movie that bagged an Oscar award for Best Foreign Language film in 1989. I have yet to see another movie that can compare to this Italian movie.
And my current favorite music group?
Il Divo... Il Divo... Il Divo...
I have bought ALL their CDs (yes, including their Christmas CD) and their DVD "Encore" and their latest CD - 'Siempre'. I think Urs (the cutest one in the group) looks like famed Italian footballer, Francesco Totti!
Told ya... I'm not that boring after all! :-)
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| | The person I admire most in life - as my role model?
My beloved Scottish godmother, Linda Harley who now resides in Scotland. She was living in Singapore for 23 years and taught at the Singapore American School for most of that time until her husband's death in the late-1990s. I have been so blessed to have met this woman. She is such a pillar of strength to me, my prayer partner, my confidante... and my surrogate mom! ;-) I love her dearly.Famous people whom I admire as role models?
My #1 role model and hero is the world famous neurosurgeon, Dr Benjamin Solomon Carson. Click on this link to read about Dr Ben Carson - Bio. He didn't have a good headstart in life but yet, against all odds, and with his faith in the Living God (he prays before and after each surgery) and his mother's love/guidance, he rose to the top of his class and profession in the medical field of neurosurgery with one of America's top hospitals (where my cousin Brandon is now based) - Johns Hopkins Hospital.
My #2 role model is currently pastoring one of the largest churches in Singapore - the charismatic Pastor Joseph Prince. His hilarious and life-changing sermons can now be watched over American TV (via Daystar) and in Australia (via Australian Christian Channel). He can also be seen on African TV stations, in countries like Uganda. Pastor Prince (who is of mixed parentage - half-Indian and half-Chinese) came from a very humble background. This is the church that he currently pastors in: New Creation Church, Singapore
Another amazing role model of mine is world famous pastor and author, Joel Osteen. His bestselling book "Your Best Life Now" has been on the bestseller list since 2004! Today, he pastors the largest church in America - Lakewood Church. Victoria Osteen is one blessed woman!
What are my favorite cities to live in?
Why, SINGAPORE, of course. It has great food (yummy!) and you won't go broke eating out every nite either. It's a metropolis, baby! The only snag? You CAN'T chew gums, spit or throw litter anywhere - lest you'd be fined or (horror of horrors) - jailed. :-D But hey, I'm certainly not complaining. The city is so safe that a single woman can walk on the streets at 5am after a fun nite out.
Next is - MILAN (for obvious reasons). Great shopping (you'll be forgiven to think that you've died and gone to shopping heaven! Haha). Great food... Great places to chill out... and hey, my fave soccer team (AC MILAN -- to the absolutely clueless folks out there) is based right here. The only snag - a VERY expensive city to live in. ;-))
People I most wish to meet in person? For an autograph... what were you thinking!
Joel Osteen, Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham, Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Andriy Shevchenko. ;-)
**** THE END ****
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| | My Favorite Continent (Besides ASIA) Is... EUROPE. Europe (in my eyes) is the most beautiful continent on this earth... oozing with culture and old world charm.
It had been my lifelong dream to visit the major capitals and cities of Europe and hold residence in one of their most exciting fashion capitals.... Feast on their exquisite nouvelle cuisine; sleep on the most comfortable beds in the different exotic first class European hotels (I daren't say "the best" because of my limited cash reserves!)... and basically immerse myself into the many fascinating and delightful aspects of each European culture.
A trip to Europe involves a lot of decisions. I'm sure you'll ask yourself questions like - "Which countries should I visit?", "What is there to see?", "What should we not miss?", "What should be done before, during, and after a trip?" etc. Questions. Questions. Questions.
No other continents on this Earth can even be compared to the extreme popularity of Europe as a travel destination. I'm sure even for its residents, the cultural density and diversity of this continent offers virtually limitless travel opportunities for exploration and discovery. In the last decade, the entire European continent has gone through a period of enormous and unprecedented change. The unification of Germany with the fall of the Berlin Wall. The end of the Soviet Union etc are just a handful of memorable events that has occured in the last couple of years.
Yes, Europe makes an exciting travel destination. And it is my personal #1 continent in the world.
:-))
TRAVEL TO FARAWAY PLACES!
I love to travel (yeah, who doesn't). And I strongly believe there's no better way to learn about the world around us than to travel. I have always enjoyed the adrenaline rush of traveling and being on the road. I remembered when I was in my late teens, instead of staying put in the Far East, I would pack my bags and head off to Australia to see my favorite aunt/uncle during my school vacations. When I finally got a full time job (my first job!) with a little cash to play around with.... Guess what my favorite activity was?
Yes, exploring new places and discovering new ideas! I try to visit as many places as time and money permit(s)... and hopefully one day, I can collect countries like others collect stamps, silver spoons or postcards. I try to take lots of photos but what I enjoy most is actually meeting new people, learning their culture and penning down my personal experiences into my travel journal...oops, palm pilot, I mean. Learning how these people live and trying to understand their culture certainly helped me understand myself better. Writing about the adventures of my previous vacations extends my pleasure over many months! It is also a good discipline that forces me to study and to research the facts that can either confirm, astound or cause me to modify the impressions I come home with.
Needless to say, building my travel website on Virtual Tourist has taken up a considerable amount of my personal time but hey, the fact that my efforts have been well rewarded by a better understanding of what life is all about is certainly worth it! I will continue to develop this site on a regular basis for the pleasure of sharing the joys of DISCOVERY with you. Wouldn't it be great if there were 36 hours in a day for us to play around with?
After all, young travelers like us (armed with a heightened sense of adventure... ahem!) are starting to bypass the usual vacation spots... & instead, we DARE to explore the furthest, funkiest, most exotic destinations on planet Earth.
The creed we swear by?
"The more difficult it is to get there... the more we wanna go!"
So, what you waiting for? Start by e-Traveling around the VT travel site first... and then pack up your bags/ luggage and GO! |
| | MY FAVORITE PLACES... My favorite places list tends to change constantly. This is expected as I continue to discover new places and unique off-the-beaten-path villages/towns dotted along our beautiful planet.
FAVE PLACE TO REST & RELAX:
- the isle of CAPRI, Italy
- POSITANO, Italy
- AMALFI, Italy
- LAKE COMO, Italy
- SURFERS PARADISE, Australia
- CAPE TOWN, South Africa
- INVERNESS, Scotland
- THE COTSWOLDS, England
- TASMANIA, Australia
- SAN FRANCISCO, USA
- BALI, Indonesia
- SANTORINI, Greece
FAVE CITIES FOR SHOPPING - for European-sized clothings
- MILAN & ROME, Italy
- SINGAPORE (Asia)
- SAN FRANCISCO, USA
- CAPE TOWN, South Africa
- MELBOURNE & SYDNEY, Australia
(Unlike most Asian girls who are generally small and petite, I am 5ft 7 inches tall and big boned i.e. I wear Euro size 40 clothes and size 39 shoes. I can NEVER get anything in my size in countries like Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand! So exasperating..!). One good thing is that I know with the genes I have, my future kids will not be midgets or petite! :-)
MY PERSONAL FAVE HOTELS IN THE WORLD THAT I'VE STAYED IN
(in terms of room size, value for money, first class service, location)
- THE BULGARI HOTEL, Milan-Italy
- GRAND HYATT ERAWAN HOTEL, Bangkok-Thailand
- INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, Sydney-Australia
- THE RITZ CARLTON HOTEL, San Francisco-USA
- MARK HOPKINS HOTEL, San Francisco-USA
- THE PALACE OF THE LOST CITY RESORT HOTEL, Sun City-South Africa
- THE RITZ CARLTON HOTEL, Singapore
- THE ISLAND SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, Hongkong-China
- PALAZZO VERSACE HOTEL, Gold Coast-Australia
- HOTEL ARTS, Barcelona-Spain
- THE WESTIN PALACE HOTEL, Madrid-Spain
- HOTEL RITZ, Madrid-Spain
- FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, Bali-Indonesia
FAVE CITIES TO GO CLUB-HOPPING & MEET COOL/CLASSY PEOPLE
- ROME & MILAN, Italy
- PARIS/ ST TROPEZ & CANNES (in summer), France
- BARCELONA & MADRID, Spain
- MELBOURNE & SYDNEY, Australia
- SINGAPORE (Asia)
- HONG KONG (Asia)
- LONDON, England |
| FORZA ITALIA - Forever A Serie A tifosa! |
| | THE ONE THING THAT YOU MUST DO OR LIVE TO REGRET! I am going to concentrate on food/drinks/entertainment only in this mini section - instead of the usual sightseeing stuff. Surely you must have wondered what is the one thing a foreigner must do in these cities or... live to regret, right? So, here goes Krystynn's personal recommendations!
- MILAN (ITALY): Dine/Shop at the most fashionable place in the entire universe - the uber chic CORSO COMO 10. You'll bump into celebrities, VIPs and your everyday tourists. My fave place to window-shop and do lunch with my gal pals. And then go clubbing later at Milan's #1 nightspot for the uber chic - HOLLYWOOD CLUB. Again, my fave place to unwind.
- SINGAPORE: Go for drinks at THE LONG BAR inside the historic and uber prestigious RAFFLES HOTEL. This was where the world famous cocktail drink - Singapore Sling was invented/created. Famous celebrities/VIPs and poets/writers (both alive and passed on) have visited this unique bar. Don't worry. It won't burn a hole in your pocket. Then head over to (a) the world's only NIGHT SAFARI and rub shoulders with your favorite animals... and/or (b) visit THE ESPLANADE for supper/drinks or attend a musical/play.
- SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA): Dine in one of the many fancy restaurants dotting THE ROCKS. My fave place to hangout is the Italian restaurant there where we got to meet the owner (nice gentleman!). My SYDNEY TRAVEL PAGE HAS MORE INFO ON THIS RESTAURANT. Then hop over to watch a play/concert at THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE... or just take a romantic stroll along THE ROCKS and soak in the moonlight.
More to come.... on
- PARIS (France)
- BARCELONA (Spain)
- MADRID (Spain)
- HONG KONG (China)
- ROME (Italy)
- CAPE TOWN (South Africa)
- BANGKOK (Thailand)
- VENICE (Italy)
- VERONA (Italy)
- EDINBURGH (Scotland)
I hope you'll enjoy these places just as much as I've enjoyed sharing them with you.
** For those who have sent me emails requesting for hot tips et al: My deepest apologies if I can't reply to every single email due to shortage of time. Most of my pages are written from a personal viewpoint and they may differ from your regular guidebooks. If you can't find what you're looking for, it's probably because I have not yet visited that place or have not stayed in that hotel (yet)... or eaten that in particular eaterie. So, in this respect, I won't be able to help you out - much as I would love to. Please feel free to surf on to other travel pages here on VT or to other travel sites for more hot tips. |
| THE MERLION STATUE - SINGAPORE! |
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 Krystynn's Albums | | | |
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 Comments for Krystynn | | | | |
rdney99 Tue Apr 15, 2008 02:08 UTC
Very interesting pages Krystynn, love all your lists of favorite things. Planning on visiting your great city of Signapore in the near future- Tony | xaver Sun Feb 17, 2008 18:53 UTC
Hope all your wishes become true too, specially your wish to wish me to go with Manuela Arcuri:-P | apekovic Tue Jan 1, 2008 17:51 UTC
Hy Krystynn, I am agree with you about Singapore. I wisit this magical city at 1995 and I'm realy adore Singapore. Wish you a Happy New Year! | sim1 Tue Jan 1, 2008 10:18 UTC
Happy New Year Krystynn! May all your dreams come true for 2008! Best wishes from Simone and Ĺke :-) |
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