Sabina Blogs

My name is Sabina. Watch me blog!

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Sydney 1/3/15

So I literally spent one day in Sydney.  I think it was almost less than 24 hours but I had my flight booked home from Sydney so had to get there somehow.  I also had been kicking myself about not climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge last time I was there so made sure to do it.

I started my day with Gloria Jean’s coffee and then trotted over the Sydney Art Museum - Pop Art Exhibit.

I walked along the harbor to grab lunch and say hello to the bridge I would soon be conquering.

As well as giving some loving to the Opera House.

Finally it was my time to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge! And boy was it great.  I bought every photo they took of me because it was probably something I won’t be doing any time soon (especially because it was kind of pricey).  But look at how much fun I had.

Look ma no hands!

And some money shots

I was pretty exhausted afterwards so didn’t do anything too crazy but tucked into my hostel bed and got super excited for the flight home.

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Bali - 12/27/14-2015!

Unfortunately I don’t have a ton of photos from Bali but I spent the first night there by myself taking in all the food I could eat starting with the welcome gift from the resort.

And then everything at dinner.

I spent the next morning checking out the beach.

And then waiting poolside drink in hand to meet Holly!

We drank and ventured out in Bali

But mostly drank

We saw rice fields

Had seafood on the beach and were serenaded to the sounds of Hotel California

Spent the night in a private resort where we had our own pool and got massages

Needless to say it was very romantic.

We rang in the new year on the beach with everyone setting off fireworks for hours.  It monsooned shortly after the new year started but we were still happy as clams.

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Singapore - Crab and Safari -12/26

I was told I had to eat the chili crab when in Singapore so I decided to treat myself and go to Jumbo is probably a tourist trap but was so delicious.

I started off with a duck appetizer

And then bibbed up for the main

In came the crab

Which I then had to google how to eat crab because I don’t think I ever have actually had it before.  Needless to say, my plate looked a little messy when I was done.

I strolled a long for a little bit and caught in some sites

And then once it started monsooning I headed indoors

Luckily it cleared up so I still went on a Night Safari

I hopped in a tram and toured around the different animal areas to see them at night.  I tried to take some photos but everything ended up looking like this.

Yes those are hippos.

I ended the night at 1-Altitude rooftop bar to take in some views...

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Singapore - Christmas Day! 12/25

So this is the first Christmas I have ever spent alone, thousands of miles from my family and in humid weather.  Needless to say it did not feel like Christmas but I still tried to celebrate.  I spent the morning at church attending a rather humid service and then spent the rest of the day being a tourist.

I walked over to the Merlion Statue to take some pics.

Quite the pano

I walked over to the mall which was all up in the Christmas spirit

Which I joined in on as well.

 I then went over to Gardens by the Bay which was all sorts of beautiful.

I went inside the greenhouses and was mesmerized.

I walked over and checked out the second greenhouse which had a bit more holiday spirit.

Afterwards I took a twirl on the Singapore Flyer.

Pretty amazing views from up above

Even more spectacular when you have a bevie to go along with it.

To finish my Christmas day, I went to Raffles Hotel to get their signature beverage.

Not quite a traditional Christmas but still one for the books!

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Singapore - Orchard Road 12/24

Now...getting back to this trip.  I can’t believe it was almost a year ago that I packed my bags to move to India for a few months.  Since my next out of country excursion is happening in less than 2 weeks, I thought it was about time to finish posting all my pictures from this trip...and try and get better at the whole blogging thing.

I spent the rest of my Christmas Eve walking around Singapore feeling the Christmas spirit.  I stopped by a church to check out their Nativity scene.

I then walked around Orchard Road which was decked out in festive lights.

And oh the Christmas trees

My favorite tree was this one that had Hope, Joy and Love all around it.

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Singapore - Botanic Gardens/Orchid Garden 12/24

I arrived in Singapore on Christmas Eve.  I heard that the Botanic Garden was something I should not miss.  I walked all around the park and felt like I was going to die a few times in the humidity but I took some great photos!

The park was decked out for Christmas in some parts.  I also paid the extra fee to walk around the Orchid Garden which was well worth it.

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Hong Kong- Food 12/23

Okay so Hong Kong has some great food and I completely understand why people go there just to shop/eat (except I did no shopping).  But here are some of my food highlights.

Choux Creamery Dessert

Maxim's Palace at City Hall (Dim Sum)

I actually got to meet up with one of my sorority sisters who lives in Hong Kong to get dim sum.  I am so glad I did because I would not want to get dim sum by myself so overwhelming.

Some sort of egg dessert

McDonald's at the airport

Cheesecake?! Macaroons?! Chocolate milk?! It was great.

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Hong Kong - Ozone & Avenue of the Stars 12/22

So after learning about history, I felt it was important to get a drink at the tallest bar in the world, Ozone at the top of the Ritz.  I used my map to walk over to find it and had the toughest time finding the hotel.  The entrance is actually in a mall and there is close to zero signage on the outside so I definitely got lost multiple times.

However it was definitely worth it once I got to the top.  

I'll tdrink that that view...and eat a few snacks

I stayed up at the bar for a while and watched the scenery turn from day...

...to night

I met up at the bar with one of my friends from India and chatted for a bit before heading off to Avenue of the Stars to see the light show.

The light show was kind of a let down but at least the buildings were all dressed up for the holidays

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Hong Kong - Museum of History 12/22

I spent the day in Hong Kong wandering around and decided to visit the Museum of History to learn more about Hong Kong.  

The exhibits were pretty cool and very colorful.  

Not the most exciting thing in the world but I do enjoy going to museums in different countries to learn about their history.

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Hong Kong - Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery 12/21

Where were we? Oh yes Hong Kong.

So in the same day I visited Big Buddha, I also visited the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery so I had one big day of Buddhas.

Warning: This post is picture heavy as I took lots of selfies/pics of different Buddhas because they were all so fabulous!

Let's start off with some attitude.

So dramatic...

Aka how I feel in water...and there were also some very interesting Buddhas

A Buddha for everyone! There were really so many.

When you get to the top, after climbing hundreds of stairs, there are more Buddhas but also the temple and more intricate things to see.

I can't believe I have been back in the US for 2 months already!

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Hong Kong - Tian Tan Buddha 12/21

Big Buddha Big Buddha Big Buddha.

Before embarking on another journey that would have an hour long line to get there, I stopped at The Spaghetti House to get ready for the trip.

Then waited in line for an hour to get on the cable car to get to the top of Lantau Island where the Buddha was.

Once I got off, you could see Buddha in all his glory.

I walked to the base to get as close to Buddha as possible.

The views of the mountains were gorgeous!

I walked around the area up there a bit (they really built it up for tourists) and walked a bit on the Wisdom Path.

I stood in line in the cold (I keep forgetting it's real winter here) and made my way back to the hostel.

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I'm Back!

So I realize I kind of fell off the face of the earth while blogging in Hong Kong.  Don't you worry I made it to all my destinations and made it back to the USA. A lot has changed in my life in the past month and a half so I'm excited to share that with you all (as well as the last pictures from my trip) and be a more active blogger.  Because let's be real I need to get better at writing down my thoughts/activities.

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Hong Kong - Man Mo Temple 12/20

I've been continuing to wander around Hong Kong.  I wandered around Central and Sheung Wan.  

I took the Central Mid-Way elevator for a bit.

I walked along Hollywood Road

I also walked along Cat Street which I thought was going to be full of shops selling cats...Sadly I was mistaken as there was just a bunch of antiques.  I didn't take any pictures because I was very upset when I found this out.

I did manage to stop into Man Mo Temple which was really vibrant.

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Hong Kong - Victoria Peak 12/20

So in the wee hours of Saturday I said goodbye to India and hello to 2 weeks of time off!  First stop Hong Kong.  I slept the entire ride over which was good rest because I then had to shlep my 30 kilo bag around with me to the hostel.  This meant carrying it up multiple flights of stairs.  Needless to say my arms have been sore for the past 2 days but exhaustion could not keep me from exploring.  First up was Victoria Peak which was supposed to have spectacular views of the city.

I decided might as well take the tram up.

Going on a Saturday may have been a mistake as I waited in line for an hour before making it onto a tram.

After walking through a few levels of shops, I finally made it to the top and saw views of the city.

And a selfie for good measure.

Also note it was freezing up there at the Peak.  Even in my flannel which has protected me in most climates, I was frigid.  However I got over the cold pretty quickly when I found a Burger King up there that also served beer.

Needless to say I got beef and a beer.  BK really needs to bring this to the states...

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Last Week In India!

So it's my last week in India.  I can't believe I have been here for 12 weeks it seems crazy to be that time has gone by that fast.  To be honest I have just have been/will be working my last 2 weeks here.  It's been cool because I have gotten to meet new people from my project who live all around India as well as got to see the India office of my client but it has also been A LOT of work (which is why I have no posted no pictures recently).

I was thinking about posting something lengthy about how much I have enjoyed my time here and all the stuff I've learned and how much I've grown as a person and blah blah BUT I'm sure all of that has already been written about study abroad/working abroad/traveling (and much more eloquently than I would write it) so I'll just say how grateful I am for having had this experience and how FREAKING EXCITED I am to take work off and travel the next 2 weeks.

Happy Holidays!

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Kolkata 11/29-11/30

So I ventured off this past weekend to Kolkata to visit a friend from back home who was here for the week.  I didn't take a ton of pictures so don't get too excited.

We got breakfast at Flurys which was delicious.  We then drove to see the Belur Math temple and river.

We drove around a bit and then went to his parents' house where I had some delicious homemade Bengali sweets (how I miss homemade food).

We saw Victoria Memorial and walked around its parks.

We visited a church and then went to dinner at Oh Calcutta! where I had delicious Bengali food.

Later that night we met up with some of his college friends and went clubbing until 4 in the mornin which was exhausting.  We got food and then I slept for many hours.  The next day I ventured out on my own and went to the Indian Museum.

I then walked to The Mother House and visited Mother Teresa's tomb.

There was a museum about her life and we got to see the room where she stayed when she was alive.  I went back to the Hyatt to get coffee and read a bit and then grabbed tea with my friend and headed back to the airport.

People started yelling in the airport about their Air India flight being delayed so that was quite an experience. 

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Thanksgiving in India 11/27

So being in India for an American holiday was tough (especially not getting the day off as a holiday) but our hotel made us a turkey.

Obviously it incredibly freaked me out because it still looks alive but I had a bit.  Lots of wine was had and we all went around the table to say what we were thankful for.  

Then I did karaoke....so not the most traditional thanksgiving but still a good one overall.