Sao Lao

The garden at Hortus Botanicus doesn’t have the colorful flowers that I am very fond of yet. I think by next week they should be up and in full blooms so I will go back and check them out. At least some of the trees were showering the ground with beautiful blossoms.

Some photos and a video clip of Hortus Botanicus Leiden Fish Pond. I never knew there were fishes down there until I saw another student playing with them. I made some new friends that day and will keep going back to play with them later.

Read the rest of this entry »

A few photos I took of the NS train with sports theme at Leiden Centraal Station on April 29, 2008. I love these colorful trains with various sports themes, showing support/sponsor of the World Cup or the Olympics.

I like to hang out at Hortus Botanicus Leiden Green House whenever I can. During the summer months it is too warm to be inside the green house. I like to visit the place because of the tropical plants and flowers on display. They remind me of Laos, especially the water lilly and few plants that we used to grow on our lawn in Vientiane.

Read the rest of this entry »

After the spending a couple of hours at Leiden Law School, I decided to head out for lunch at Hortus Botanicus Leiden. It was too crowded at the outdoor seating area with mostly tourists and students having a late lunch or coffee and tea so I went to walk around in the garden instead.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some photos I took on April 10, 2008 after a special lecture I attended for Latin American Politics Seminar. Leiden Law School is located only a few minutes from the botanical garden and from the main Church. The building is a blend of traditional and modern architecture.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I found out about a park near the Faculty of Social Science building. It was only five minutes walk away so I went there after class for a little bit of fresh air. There is a playground and also a sort of zoo for the children to hang out. It’s a nice place to escape to after a hectic day for the people in the area and to take your kids to hang out before dinner or during the weekend.

Read the rest of this entry »

On April 10, 2008, we were invited by the Honors Class to attend a special lecture at the Faculty of Law. I didn’t even know where the law building is at but have met many Chinese students from that faculty at the beginning of the year during the registration process. After searching on Google map I found the location of the faculty of law which is only a few meters from the international office. Below are some photos from the university website of Leiden University Faculty of Law. I particularly like the photos of the library with rows of computers for the students and the sun roof.

Read the rest of this entry »

On April 03, 2008 I had an early class at 9:00 AM. That means I had to catch the 7:00 AM train to Leiden. I was fortunate to have found an empty seat for that morning. It beats standing for almost an hour journey to school. At least I can just read and eat my breakfast while sitting down.

By the time I got to school it was almost 8:30 hour and the lobby was quiet with only few souls walking around. This is my last seminar course and I can only miss one meeting so I have to do my best to keep up with the reading assignments as well as the weekly essays. Just a couple of months and this will all be over. I can’t wait to graduate finally!

After a train ride back from Leiden I found out there was a problem with the local train schedule and there was only one train going in my direction every half an hour. I decided to walk home instead and took my time checking out the spring flowers along the way.

It took me an hour to get home but it was a good exercise after a day of walking more than three hours. Let’s just say I just passed out that night.