Norway - Nights out

Continuation from my previous post on Norway's fjords!

I was in Stavanger over the weekend, so Vivaleng brought me out!

Got to try this Scandinavian thing called snus, which is basically like a tobacco pouch.

It's banned in the EU, but still very popular in countries like Sweden & Norway.

You stick it under your lip & the tobacco gets absorbed into your bloodstream that way.

In a way it's sort of like smoking & it's no wonder I saw a couple of Scandinavian guys using it on my flight home, since you can't smoke on planes but with snus you get the same sort of effect.

Anyhow you can use it for varying amounts of time, ranging from like, 5 minutes for the first time to 30 minutes or whatever for regular users. It stains your teeth pretty yellow though, noticed that among the male friends Vivaleng introduced me to.

So I stuck it under my lip & didn't feel anything for quite a bit so I just left it there for 20 minutes or something & then the effect hit me suddenly & I wound up vomitting in the toilet lol.

It's nothing like the alcohol sort of nausea if that's what you're thinking. 

You're perfectly lucid & sober. Just felt sick because it was too long for my first time!

#wildchild

And also, #thepictureyoutakebeforeyouloseyourphone

Okay she didn't lose her phone but it looks like a very possible scenario.

2012 >> fresh-faced 22 year old.

What hasn't changed:

Still doing the twist in pictures (hello, I'm half Asian)

Still have bangs (I demand that bangs be allowed in passport pictures)

Still doing the semi-duck face pout in pictures

In fact, even my makeup is still the same.

I think since I began using eyeliner (15 years old if I recall correctly) my makeup hasn't changed. Still concealer, eyeliner & lipstick. Eyeshadow & blush on more dressy occasions.

Alright, this means I'm FINALLY done with my 2012 winter Europe holiday posts!

And...

Can now move on to backdated 2013 posts LOL.

Norway - Fjords

OMG GUESS WHAT I ACTUALLY EDITED THESE PICTURES BUT FORGOT ABOUT THEM.

MUST.

BLOG.

When I look at the massive amount of unedited, unseen pictures accumulating in my iPhotos... I... am super discouraged. LOL. And then I switch tabs to look at cat pictures on Facebook instead.

And don't say no need to edit...

Even resizing is editing!

Plus now virtually every single blogger is armed with a professional camera AND A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER (no, seriously, when did this become a thing? wtf).

Note that these pictures below are still taken with my 2012 semipro.

Possibly why the quality is shit. Haha.

Say hi to Vivaleng.

Whom I actually hadn't met before. LOL.

Some of you might remember how we met... Online. I know when you say it like that it sounds like we were both trawling some lesbian dating site or something. But no, she was one of my blog readers haha. Does that mean I can call her my fan? Hahahaha. #notshy

So anyhow, she used to comment on my Formspring - one of the few non-anonymous ones, so I took note. I do start to remember names of people that reply to me a lot, so I noticed hers.

She came to Singapore one time; we didn't meet up or anything. She simply came to say hi at a flea market I was at. In fact that was all, we said hi then that was pretty much it as it was really crowded.

Also, her voice reminded me SO much of a friend I used to be close to (and the friendship didn't end well) so I was really taken aback in a sorta unpleasant way.

And basically that was that. A 5-second exchange & a few comments here there online.

Fast forward half a year or whatever, I'm planning my December 2012 winter holiday to Europe.

I realise I have a few days with nothing planned.

I decide to self-invite myself over to her town in Norway, Stavanger. LOL.

It was really abrupt. I basically searched her on Facebook, added her as a friend (at least I did that haha) & sent her a message inviting myself over hahahahaha.

So after spending Christmas with my family in Paris, I flew up to Stavanger for 3 days!

After being in Europe for 3 weeks I was terribly sick of being cold all the time.

People in Singapore complain a lot about the weather but frankly I love it.

I don't particularly enjoy the sun (ok I don't like the sun at all) but I much prefer warmth.

Notice the heart shaped dent in the rock? Vivaleng said couples like to get married here.

Trickling water frozen into ice before it makes it down.

Stavanger's fjords were really pretty, it's just too bad the weather was quite gloomy (which apparently seems to be the case for many months out of the year). Norway is probably more about nature than anything else (from a tourist's point of view) as their city centre is pretty small & shopping/city life is... haha. Not to mention expensive. Just a reminder: Norway & Singapore both have a population of 5 million. Except that Norway is a zillion times bigger. You can actually SEE it on the world map. That should give you an idea of the stark contrast between the two.

Stavanger only had a population of 200, 000 but it's the 3rd largest city of Norway. Never been to Norway's capital though (Oslo, which is much further up north & also colder), so I'm curious to see how a bigger city would be like.