Pulau Aur

It's been a long 6 years since I last went diving. My last dive spot was Sipadan in 2003 with some university friends after Mount Kinabalu. It wasn't that I no longer liked diving, I just never seem to have found the time to do so. And hence, when I took the 6 month sab, I told myself that I have to go diving at least once.

Diving 2009 - checked. :)

Pulau Aur

At dusk :)

Pulau Aur is actually located just opposite (kind of) Pulau Dayang. Ah, memories of Dayang. It was where I took my OWD and AOWD license all in the same week. My first turtle, nudibranch, school of barracuda and Napolean wrasse. The beginning of my love affair with diving :).

Because I'm too broke to own a casing for my camera, hence no underwater photos. *Maybe I'll save enough for one in my next trip :)*

Pulau Dayang

That was where I spent a week eating, sleeping, learning. God, that was ages ago!!

Blue waters *grin*

Helsinki, Finland

Hello Helsinki!

We flew from St Petersburg to Helsinki instead of taking the train as the tracks were due for repair works or expansion, or something like that. Not that I minded. A couple of hours in the plane sure beats a few hours in the train. For me anyway.

Helsinki Airport

We stayed at Holiday Inn, which was really quite nice. Not to mention, the availability of free business centre with internet use is a very very big plus. The particular Holiday Inn that we stayed was the one near the main train station. There wasn't any itinerary planned for the day so we had time to explore the city on our own. But not before getting some good food. American food that is :P. I was craving so much for a good piece of burger!

And voila! I found it at Chico's. That burger was to die for!!!

Lunch :D.

Right after that, we wandered around town, spending some time at Stockmann, which is apparently the version of Harrods in London. Pretty big complex with a huge variety I have to say. But like Harrods? Not yet I think. It's not as snobbish :P.

City Centre

Statues outside Stockmann

Let's see if I have this correctly (well, I do think it is in Finland) - Taxes in Finland are fairly high, and the highest bracket can go up to the 60s. But what was interesting was what the 'Mother's wage' that they had. Apparently after delivery, one could apply for this and get paid their usual wage for 8 months and then after that, 75 or 80% of their wage for the next two years if they have yet to return to work. A pretty good system, isn't it? *well, I stand corrected if I am wrong - it's been too long from my trip -.-"*

The Helsingin Rautatieasema (Helsinki Central Railway Station)
---------------------------------

Started off the day with a visit to the Sebilius Monument built in memory of Jean Sebilius, a famous Finnish composer. Made out of numerous steel pipes, the memorial is definitely a sight. Only thing is, that was the only sight in the whole place (oh, plus his face at the side of course). According to the guide, there was an uproar when the place was first unveiled as the locals weren't particular impressed with the monument and the face was made to peace it out. *Or so that's what I understood*

The famous steel pipes

Jean Sebilius?

No, this wasn't our bus *But cute isn't it?*

After that, they took us to ..... somewhere for photos. It was a fairly pretty place with the white painted fences and bridge, with a house on the background next to the creek coupled the calm lake.

No fishing!

:) Map next to ice-cream stall

There wasn't that much to see really in the place apart from the pretty scenery and calmness that it exudes. When the birds weren't trying to dig your eyeballs. Thankfully, there was only one who was trying to do that.

1952 Olympic Stadium

Let's see.... Impressive? Nope. Well, not at this age and time I suppose. In 1952, I'm pretty sure the stadium would make an impact on a tourist, but for 2009? It was ... well, just like any other medium sized stadium. It wasn't huge to start with, and neither did it have a lot of seatings..Nothing like the Sydney Olympics or the Malaysian Commonwealth. In fact, it reminded me of the sports stadium my high school used to rent for the annual sports day. A miss-able attraction if it isn't convenient for someone.

Streets of Helsinki

Do you know that speeding fines in Finland are calculated not in your usual fine brackets? It is actually calculated against your net income - which makes it really bad if you're a high earner. Just like how the son of a sausage empire was caught speeding and was ultimately fined >150,000 Euro! Talk about expensive fines!

Nordic Walk

Also known as 'Alzheimers Skiing' (as one uses 'ski poles' but forgot to put skis on), it was a fairly common activity in Helsinki. Basically a form of exercise, and not only done by the elderly - the middle-aged group does it to. Especially at areas out of town.

Next stop: Tempplaukio Church

A Lutheran church, it was built into a rock, where the interiors were excavated and lightings entered through the glazed dome. The church was well-lit in the day and was really quite impressive. The church had two levels, both accessible to public and from the higher level, one could see the designs much better. Apparently, the church was quite often used for concerts due to it's great acoustics. What I really liked about the church was the organs. For some reason, church organs just fascinates me :).

Church organ

Isn't that just the cutest?!? :D

It was time for our last tourist stop in Helsinki before boarding the ship to Stockholm.

Helsinki Cathedral

A truly magnificient structure, the majestic aura that it exudes with the white walls and green domes - I truly loved the building. Also a Lutheran church, it was built in 1917 as a tribute to the Nicholas I, one of the Russian Tsars. It is located near the Market Square, accessible by about 7 minutes walk.

More organs :D

Candles & Prayers

There is no entrance fees to the church, and obviously there wasn't any restrictions on photography as well. The church is filled mainly with tourist as far as I can see, but who can blame them? It was truly a beautiful building and definitely one of the highlights of Helsinki.

Statue in front of the Cathedral *Side profile of statue*

Oh look! Trams!! *Reminds me of the Yarra Trams in Melbourne*

Seeing that we had a bit of time, we managed to sneak in a quick visit to the market - which was filled with mainly fresh fruits and some seafood. It is one of the most famous markets in Finland and is located at the borders of the Baltic sea. Which meant that from there, we could also see many of the big ship liners. Definitely a place to put on to-go places if one has the time. After all, its just a short walk from the cathedral.

@ Market Square

*grin*

And then we were whisked off to the ship! It was an overnight cruise on the Silja Line which was a fairly big ship I suppose. It had quite a few restaurants, a bar/pub, a casino - but I suppose these are pretty standard facilities on a cruise ship. But what I liked more, was the views of the city as we were leaving.

Restaurants on the R)
Shops on the L)
Casino/Entertainment centre (behind)

One from the harbour/jetty *whatever you call it*

One of the city *see the Helsinki Cathedral?*

Okay, back to the ship. Well, I suppose as we were on a tour group, we had the lower bunks with no views - as it was proably the cheapest beds available.. which was fine. I never did think the rooms with a small window would see much either. *My proper cruise - I need to have a balcony.. Like those cruises to Alaska or something :P*

Food!!!

Dinner - Yummmmmm......

We had a little browse in the ship at the tax-free shop as we had some time to bum and found some really cute things for sale. Like the one below:

Vodka in a bulb

I thought it was pretty cool.. and a small amount too. Nice touch :D It was bedtime right after that for me - I remembered being totally zonked out that night. Early flights just doesn't agree with me. Plus, I couldn't really find anything interesting to do in the ship :(. It was sleep and Stockholm in the morning!!

St Petersburg

We had to leave Moscow early in the morning to catch a flight to St Petersburg and hence, our kind hotel packed us individual breakfasts which was really good. Not only was there a huge variety, the packaging was pretty impressive too :). Renaissance Moscow is the way to go!

Our breakfast packs

We traveled with Aerofloat which is a budget airline, but they actually provide meals onboard which is pretty different from other no-frills airlines where one has to actually purchase their own meals. While the meals were nothing to shout about, it was still ... well, a nice gesture :).

Bye Bye Moscow

First stop in St Petersburg - Peterhof, also known as the Russian Versailles after the one in France. Located in the Petrodvortsovy district in front of the Gulf of Finland, the majestic palace was the brainchild of Peter the Great who loved the sea. He had wanted to make a city at the curve of the Baltic Sea, and had to fight the Swedish in the 18th century to make St Petersburg his city.

Grand Peterhof Palace

Peterhof Palace is also known as the summer palace in St Petersburg, being the home of Peter the Great. The fountains and water designs of the palace is magnificient, looking great with the sea at the far end.

:)

The Grand Cascade
*absolutely breathtaking*

The Samson Fountain

Samson, a mythical figure is depicted in the fountain tearing open the mouth of a lion which I was told to symbolize Russia's victory in the Great Northern War with Sweden. Samson was chosen because one of the victories of the war was won on St Samson's Day.

Garden next to The Grand Cascade

There was plenty of tourist while we were there, as it was summer and there were also tourist from the cruise ships. The queue was horrendous, plus as the castle closes the next day (it closes on Mondays), everyone was trying to get in on Sunday - like us.

:) *pictures anyone?*

Sailors from the cruises

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the palace itself. But I shall try and recap what our tour guide told us. In one of the rooms, were pictures of Peter the Great and his second wife, Catherine the first.

Catherine the first was also known as the Russian Cinderella as she was a house servant/slave from Germany who ended up marrying Peter the Great, who was the emporer in his time. Catherine the first, although illiterate was very well informed in Russian language and it's culture.

Peter the Great on the other hand, had a fairly sad life in terms of family. His first wife and eldest (and only) son had not liked his revolutionary ways, so he had them executed. Apparently his son, Alexei had died during torture. It is said that Peter the Great never had a surviving son after Alexei, as karma would have it - Peter the Great had no surviving male heir. While Catherine the I had initially produced sons, they all died in childhood and of the all the children they had, only 2 girls managed to survive to adulthood.

Cafe within the Palace
*The building had a specific name - I just forgot what it was :S*

Overall, the palace grounds was fairly huge despite the palace itself being quite small in comparison to the Versailles in France. Or well, that's in my opinion as far as my memory goes. And it has been quite a few years that I was in France. *sigh* But nevertheless, I did enjoy the palace :).

In one of the gardens further from the palace, where 'trap' fountains were built in. One activates the fountains (or more like sprinkler thingys) by walking across or on top of it's sensor. It was loads of fun watching the children playing in the water and adults trying hard not to get wet but failing as they would have accidentally activated the sprinklers. It was really quite amusing.

Next stop - Hermitage Museum aka Winter Palace

The Hermitage

The State Hermitage museum is one of the oldest and largest museum in the world, housing an estimated 3 million displays. Originially founded by Catherine the Great (aka Catherine the 2nd) in the 18th century, it was opened to public in the 19th century. It is estimated that if one spend a minute on every single display, it takes 8 years to finish looking at all the pieces in the museum (going by 24 hours a day). It is said that the Hermitage was named after the word hermit because Catherine the Great used to have many lovers and it was a place for her to keep her many men.

Unfortunately for us, we only spent about an hour odd in the museum as we arrived late. Quite pointless to a certain degree as I was only led to see what is deemed important to the guide and no time at all to look at any other pieces. Annoying would be an understatement. Anyhow, pictures from the museum :

Inside the Hermitage

Mosaics on the ground

The crouching boy
By Michelangelo

In 1985, there was a violent act of vandalism in the museum. One of the museum's most prized possession was a piece by Rembrandt, which was the Danae. It is said that a man had walked into the museum, approached one of the guards and asked which was the most precious collection in the room. Thinking that perhaps he was an art enthusiast, he was directed to Danae. That man walked over, threw a bottle of sulfuric acid before producing a knife slashing the painting twice.

The Danae by Rembrandt

The painting is now back on to display after extensive restoration work. It is now protected behind a glass and no one can get nearer than an arm's length. Now, who can blame them after that incident? *sigh*

Van Gogh's - The Bush

One of the many statues in the museum

We left the museum at closing time, which was roughly about 5 p.m. and headed for dinner before calling it a day. While we didn't spend that much time sightseeing that day, it was still a long day as we took off from Moscow really early that morning.

Streets of St Petersburg

Our hotel just off the Baltic sea. The hotel is fairly run down, and to our horror, we had been allocated some really horrible rooms. It was like... motel rooms. The beds were musty, the toilet was gross, the carpet dirty and the airconditioning doesn't even work. This was a self-proclaimed 4* hotel. Lucky for us, our tour guide made some calls and got us transferred to the newer renovated rooms. Some pictures below just to show how different the rooms are!!

My piece of advise to anyone travelling to that hotel is to demand that you get that newer rooms as they cost the same! Either that, or I hope that hotel really gets its renovations works completed quickly. It's appalling.

Old guestroom

Old bathroom
*see how green and gloomy it looks? :S*

Behold! The new rooms
*It's like an entirely different hotel!*

A much much better bathroom :)

Seeing that we were just in front of the Baltic sea, we couldn't resist a walk down to the 'pier' to enjoy the seabreeze and sunset. It wasn't a beach as of such which was a pity. It was just... I don't know how to describe it.

The Baltic Sea

A hot 21 degrees

-----------------------------------------

Our hotel was located on Basil Island, which is either the first or the only island in the city. *God, my memory's terrible*. Apparently there are hours to when the island is connected to the mainland and hence, limitations on access hours. Whether this still applies today, I can't remember.

The first palace of St Petersburg

Our first stop for the day was the Sphinx which was transported over from Egypt in the 19th century by the order of Catherine the Great. It is located at the bank of Neva River, and is said to be the most northern-ly located sphinx from Eygpt.

The Sphinx

We then headed for a photostop of St Isaac Cathedral before getting on the boat for our canal cruise. St Isaac Cathedral is the largest cathedral in the city, built by Peter the Great in dedication to St Isaac, who has been born on the feast day of that saint.

St Isaac Cathedral

Next up, canal boat ride. St Petersburg is located next to the sea and has many many canals. A little like Venice but much pretttier canals (and of course, unlike Venice houses' doors don't open directly into the canal) , the ride took us around the city taking in the sights of many buildings and parks. One that made an impression was the Church of Saviour on Spilled Blood, or also known as Church of Spilled Blood.

I love how serene the place looks

Seeing how beautiful the Church of Saviour on Spilled Blood we made a request to the tour guide to visit the place to take better pictures. Located next to Griboedov Canal, the church was named after the assasinated Alexander II's blood. It was built by his son, Alexander the III in memory of his father.

Church of Saviour on Spilled Blood

We only had 15 minutes to spare at the place, which made it impossible for me to enter the church for a better look and read. Instead, I spent time at the flea market directly opposite the church along the canal. It is said that this church has the largest number of mosaic for a church in the world. Beautiful with all it's colours, it definitely was a sight to behold.

Quaint building nearby
*No idea what it was, but it sure looked interesting*

Stall @ flea market

The flea market was just like any other flea markets, with exception to the numbers of statues and dolls sold. More than anywhere else I've seen. Less on shirts and fridge magnets.

Soon after that, we headed for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Our guide has told us previously about traditional Russian dishes, and of note were the beetroot soup and beef straganoff. We haven't had a chance to try any of it, and seeing that it was one of our last meals in Russia, we decided to order them. Definitely a very right decision!

Beetroot soup

Beef Stroganoff

Sauteed beef in sour cream sauce in a pastry, the dish was absolutely divine. The beef was tender and coupled with the delicious sauce, it was marvellous! I am so glad we went ahead and ordered it. The soup was also pretty good, but nothing beats the beef :).

After lunch, it was more sightseeing on the bus with a couple of photo stops in the city.

Hermitage Museum from opposite of Neva River

*I forgot what this place was called*
But it's along the Neva River, opposite the Hermitage

Next stop : Aurora Battleship

The Aurora is a battleship that symbolizes the start of the Communist Revolution in Russia when in 1917 it fired a blank shot to give a signal to the soldiers, sailors and rebellious workers to storm into the Winter Palace. That was the start to the 70 years of communist leadership in Russia. The ship is now open to public without a fee on Monday-Fridays.

Paul and Peter Cathedral

The Paul and Peter Fortress was built along the Neva River by Peter the Great in the 18th century for protection against the Swedish army. As it was summer while we were there, there were heaps of people sunbathing along the river next to the fortress. Children were playing ball, and teenagers playing in the river.

On the way towards the Cathedral in the fortress is a statue of Peter the Great. Peter was always known to be a man of tall stature, but what I did not know then was, he was said to have a disproportionate body. His head was too small and he had spidery long fingers. There is a statue depicting his physique in the place. Oh, and he's not off-limits. One may have physical contact with him while taking pictures :).

Now, back to the Cathedral. The Cathedral is the burial place for the Russian Royals from Peter the Great to Alexander the III. It is also the burial place for the last tsar of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Specifically, it is in the Chapel of St Catherine the Martyr.

The tomb of Nicholas II, Princess Alix and their 5 children

Apparently, the 4 daughters of the Tsar were fans of sewing (or something similiar) and often initial their work with OTMA, which was an abbreviation of their names. Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. Nicholas the II has one son, Grand Duke Alexei.

Inside the Cathedral

In the fortress was also the infamous political prison, The Prison of the Trubetzkoy Bastion, which is said to have housed Peter the Great's first son, Alexei. The political prison is open to public, and there is an isolation room which one can visit - and close the doors to stand in the dark, to experience what the prisoners once had to endure. The prison is estimated to have seen 1500 inmates throughout it's time.

After that, it was time for the Folklore Traditional Show that was included in our tour. It was near the main street in St Petersburg, the shopping area. There was plenty of tour groups that was there to watch the same show, Contiki and Trafalgar included. Pretty sure there was probably no locals there. Well, except for the performers of course :P.

Most of the show was pretty entertaining, ranging from dances to songs. The colours were magnificient, and quite a few of the dances were quite quick-paced.

One of the dances

'Army' Choir

Although dressed in formal attires, there was a short funny sketch done by one of the choir boys with the conductor which cracked us up pretty well. Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable 2 hours show.

Unfortunately for us, as we were walking towards the building while going to watch the show, there was 2 attempts by snatch thieves towards the people in our group. One of them was an elderly gentleman who was surrounded by 3 men attempting to snatch his bag but was saved when the other members of the group noticed it and pulled him away. The other was our tourguide, who actually had his pouch unhooked by the snatch thieves. He was smart enough to yell out loudly attracting attention to himself and hence they had to let his bag go. Thankfully it was our last day in Russia, otherwise I am pretty sure we won't be able to enjoy the country anymore. *Although saying that, we didn't have a much better experience in Copenhagen - though that's another story for another time*

On a totally random note, I was quite entertained by the spelling of McD in Russian. Everywhere else that I've been, McD has always been spelt as McD even in China where chinese characters and not alphabets are the mainstream of words. But in Russia - it's different!! :D *Yes yes, I get excited over the weirdest things :p*

McDonald's in Russian