Tuesday, February 27, 2007
yay!! im back from my uk trip!! =) and it's a very very happy one. im glad for everything tt i saw and experienced there. altho there were times i wished someone was with me.. i still enjoyed being alone and doing everything myself =)
+flight to glasgow+first time flying on a plane!! haha.. was seriously pretty worried when i boarded the plane.. din know what kind of feeling will i get when it takes off.. but it was totally surprisingly ok! haha.. din feel much pressure difference and din get pale or headaches =)
dinner was served pretty fast.. but it was disgusting. steamed fish with sunflower seeds.. with some chocolate-flavoured dessert and bread. den snacks came.. banana.. den breakfast! breakfast was pretty nice tho =)
i was so lucky that there wasnt anyone sitting beside me on my flight there.. and i got a window seat.. so the ride was pretty comfortable. i could move all my notes and books onto the seat beside me when i want to sleep.. and my legs can well stretch beyond my seat =) and i watched 'love actually' for the first time.. not as nice as what many people made it to be.
there was a thunderstorm on the way there.. and i was so excited when i realise that we are flying above the storm =) i could see the lightning below the plane. din feel much turbulence.. but the cabin crew were asked to return to their seats as well. and looking out the window.. it suddenly dawned on me that altho we are experiencing a thunderstorm on earth.. up in the sky.. the stars are still shinning well above the dark clouds. and seriously.. the stars are many and are very beautiful =)
+glasgow+reached glasgow safely after the transit at london heathrow. the customs at heathrow kinda of gave me some trouble.. but i got thru them safe and sound.. they are irritating la. had a second breakfast on the flight to glasgow.. and had a cute flight attendant serving me =) when i came out of glasgow.. i was so excited to see my breath vapourizing!! hahaha.. first time in my entire life im experiencing it and not seeing it on tv!! exciting. hehe. got lost for a little while.. din know where to take the bus to central.. din know where to top up my card.. but 'ask and u shall receive'.. and i managed to call back home finally and found the bus to get me to glasgow central. found the subway tt niece was talking about and it was when she called me finally. met her and went to her very nice house.. the house is big just for the two of them.
followed her to school after tt and had a good tour of their university alone while she attended her meeting. den she brought me to glasgow central for shopping.. and we went to some chinese supermarket and den found my dental school! haha.. the very fact that the dental school is in city center and i can have easy access to the chinese supermarket just makes everything perfect. din go into the dental school.. but the appearance of the building din give me a very good impression.
den had a nice big lunch at yates and den it was more shopping! went home before 5.. cos i was tired after the flight and i wanted to prepare for my interview. but in the end.. when i get home.. i slept on the sofa till 12 plus then waked up to bath.. read a few pieces of my notes and went back to sleep again. glad for the jet lag that i woke up at 5 plus and started my preparation real =)
the interview was not exactly smooth.. cos they asked a lot questions that i expected myself to know only if i enter the course and start studying. called dr tan and told him the questions and answers.. and he said i more or less got them correct. luckily i pay attention when he talks and explains to the patients. so over the phone, he gave me a quick summary to the definitions of the basic terms and taught me how to handle this kind of questions and turn their direction to something i am familiar with. im so glad for dr tan. and the tour around the dental school kinda changed the entire first impression i had. altho it was a old building.. everything inside was pretty new and nice! and its big too. the facilities are pretty good! =) and the admin person was really nice to me.. she really took care of me and even helped me to talk to the interviewers before my interview because i randomly mentioned to her tt i cannot really understand the people there cos of the scottish accent. so the interviewers were really nice to me =)
+edinburge+and den niece brought me to edinburge!! walked quite some distance and went to the edinburge castle. there wasnt much in edinburge also.. but the castles and all are pretty nice and its just something u will never get to see in singapore. saw how their traditional costumes were made and i must say i really love the scottish stuff.. hehe.
went back and niece's sister treated me to nandos!! hehe.. again.. something tt i will never get to eat in singapore. it was really spicy and nice!! haha.. they let me have the biggest share of the chicken =) thanks so much for the hospitality they given me.. considering that niece and i arent the closest of friends even.
+stirling+and the next day was valentine's day!! and on valentine's day.. i went stirling to see my husband!! haha.. niece called william wallace my husband cos i was all insistent on going to his monument. william wallace is just someone with a great great impact on my life and my actions.. i would say part of my strength and courage comes from him at times.. he's just a good good hero, putting aside the bloody side of wars. it was a long long climb up the the monument.. and also a long along climb up the stairs to the top of the monument. but everything was just worth it at the very end. the scenery was like superb altho the wind was really really big. i now regret tt i din get the william wallace cup when i was there =(
we kinda missed two buses on the way back and was caught in the middle of the road on a cold cold cold cold day. never felt so freezing cold in my entire life. went back and she called all her friends to her house and we had a very very nice indian meal!! even the indian meal in singapore cannot be compared to it! i think the place tt we ordered from was '7 spices'. cos of the big group of people.. we kinda have 6 curries.. 2 nann bread.. 1 big pizza.. and many many more la. i forgot to take a photo before we started. and they went on to play some gambling stuff and i just kinda of dozed off on the sofa again. hehehehe.
had to leave early on the next day.. and niece called a taxi for me. its just too tiring and hard to carry tt stupid luggage of mine all the way to the train station. it was 4 pounds.. but i guess it's already the cheapest of taxi fare tt one can find in uk. everything is good in glasgow apart from the very very very cold weather of theirs.. living expenses are low and everything.. i wun mind going there at all if i can =)
+leeds+and my train ride to leeds was pretty screwed up. i actually boarded the wrong train!! they dun even check the tickets before we boarded.. so i kinda only knew it when the train left the platform. i was supposed to go to carlisle and make a transit to leeds. the train tt i took goes to carlisle also.. but it took a longer route and time.. so i missed my transit to leeds. in the end.. the train conductor kinda planned my alternative route to leeds.. and i had to go to manchester from carlisle and from manchester go to leeds. this is all still ok.. cos i din get lost.
when i reached the leeds station.. i was frantically looking for the metro station to get to my hotel. so i went out of the train station.. din find the metro station or any signs leeding to it.. and boarded the free city-link bus. randomly dropped at a place where i saw the metro sign and to realise tt that is the headquarters and not the station itself. walked back to the train station.. and finally opened my stupid mouth to ask the ticketing person. and the freaking metro station is the same as the leeds train station!!
and so i took the metro to my hotel.. kinda got lost when i got down the metro. so i just anyhow walked in some random direction till i finally met someone on the street.. asked him and finally got to the hotel after asking some more people on the way.. who all kinda din know where the hotel was exactly. and so.. while i was supposed to reach leeds at 1 plus.. i reached my hotel finally at 6 plus. what a day of getting lost!!
the room i had was pretty good.. self sufficient i will say. the only thing was tt i needed to go out for toilets and showers.. but tt was fine =) it is not some big hotel but some family-run one.. it was just cosy i will say. and the breakfast they served was the best i had in my entire uk trip =)
there wasnt much in leeds. after my interview which went the best among the three interviews i had.. i kinda only went to the two famous shopping centres.. victoria quarter and corn exchange. din have much at the shopping centre too. maybe it was the rainy weather.. i felt totally bored that i went back to the hotel at 3 plus and just stayed in there for the rest of the day. so i will say i dun have a very good impression of leeds.. but the university and dental school there is one of the best in uk. a lot people really want to study in the dental school at leeds. with the facilities.. its somewhere i will want to go too.
+manchester+den it was to manchester.. my fav city among those which i went to =) my stay is the most comfortable and relaxing there =) and i din get lost as often altho im alone.. the transport system is manchester is just easy and idiot-proof. but im pretty amazed at how much trust the transport company has for the people.. the expect the people to have enuff self-discipline to buy the tickets from the machine at the platform before the board the train.. and they hardly check. and the thing is just that.. while i was there.. i din see anyone who didnt buy a ticket. singaporeans wunt have this much self discipline.
there are just many silly things that can happen to me when im alone.
example one: when i was looking for my hostel and i got lost for a while.. i kinda stood behind a lamp post to figure my way out before i started moving. and it so happen tt i shud be heading in the direction behind me and when i turned, i walked straight into the lamp post. and the worse thing was that someone was there and he laughed =(
example two: when i finally found my way to the hostel.. i sat down on the lower deck on the bed. and as i stood up to start arranging my stuff.. i knocked straight into the upper deck. great luck. and i called tian to tell her about my great luck.
the hostel tt i stayed in was very nice.. altho i was sleeping with three strangers for the first night. but the bed was comfortable.. and very like the one i had at home.. so i had a good sleep and a sweet dream. i even remember myself laughing out in the middle of the night. and their breakfast is good too.. i like the cereal there =) and their scrambled egg.. =)
i left the hostel to go out right after i put down my luggage and arranged my stuff. and i went to salford quay station where there was supposed to be a lot nice things.. and it was really nice! it was like our esplanade area but maybe a hundred times nicer. this is the first time i wished i am not alone in uk. so i had a long and slow walk along the river and just saw the attractions from the surface.. cos i wanted to make manchester united my first station.
so i walked for about half an hour till i reached there.. and it so happened tt there was supposed to be a match on that day!! so it was really really crowded.. but it is good to see and feel that everyone there was there to support their home-team. and then i went into the mega store where i almost went crazy! it was so big and nice things were everywhere. altho im not a man-u fan.. i kinda became like one in the store. just felt like buying everything. bought some shirts for my dad and bro and a cat collar for maomao. i missed maomao. it was just so exciting that i am actually so close to a match and so close to the players so many people are going crazy for!! haha.. it was just EXCITING!
and den i kinda walked back to the area where the imperial war museum, the lowry and the lowry outlet mall was. shopped for a while and realise tt i spent a bomb at the manchester united store and have only about 11 pounds for dinner. it was new year's eve.. so i thot i shud treat myself to a good reunion dinner with myself. so i walked into a chinese restaurant thinking tt it looked nice on the surface. and it turned out to be a real horrible dinner. the taste was suited to the english and just totally lost the chinese flavour and character the food shud have. but what's worst is that it cost exactly what i have remained in my wallet. so after the lousy meal.. i was practically penniless.
after dinner it was already 7 plus and the sky was real real dark. and when i reached the station near my hostel.. i kinda freaked out cos it was so so so dark and there werent much street lights around. so i walked in a pace like as if i can start running already.. and on my way back.. i just kinda scared myself thinking there were stuff around me.. so i had to sing some praise and worship songs to chase the fear away. and i was so glad when i reached the hostel! i swore to never so back so late when im alone.
the next morning.. i wanted to go chinatown but i din know how to and where to. so i decided to follow my instincts and just go the the piccadilly station and from there find my way. and im so glad i followed my instinct.. cos there was a shuttle bus right outside the station. the chinatown was nuthing spectacular.. maybe it was simply cos i went there too early.. but it was already pretty crowded. i thot i could find some nice and traditional chinese food.. but i din. there were all selling stuff that are there to impressed the english. many of the english were tricked into offering incense to the buddha.. which i wasnt all pleased about.. but there is no fault in them la.. they din know.
din know what to do after going chinatown so i just hopped onto the shuttle bus. and when i saw a crowd somewhere.. i decided to just go and see what's happening and join in the crowd. i kinda squeezed all my way till the first few rows and apparently.. there was supposed to be a dragon dance soon. so i got all excited.. simply cos i din expect to see something familiar in a foreign place! waited quite a while and the dragon dance turned out to be pretty disappointing. but i have to say that its a good effort on the english's part.. it just not their culture and knowing so little.. its just so hard to bring out the spirit that the dance shud portray. moreover.. they were all sweaty during the dance.. so i will say it is a very good effort =) while watching the dance.. it then came to me that im alone during chinese new year.. so i teared a bit. oh wells. spent some time around the place doing nuthing before moving on.
and then it was shopping! the shopping centre there is just spectacular la!! big and nice!! so there.. i splurged on a top that was 30 pounds.. it was so too nice for me to ignore it. hehehehehe. walked to urbis where there was an exhibition on hongkong.. and i just thought urbis archi looked like tt of titanic so i went it.. so it was quite random. and because of the splurge.. i decided not to have dinner outside and so i went back at 5 for a maggie mee dinner! it was the nicest meal ive had since i reached uk!! and i had the entire room to myself for the second night.
on the second night.. i just had the urge to go online. i havent felt any urge to go online to check my mail since ive reached uk.. cos i know nobody will email me.. and i din know why i have it that night.. till i followed my instincts and paid to go online. there was an invitation to a interview from the university of manchester!! they were asking if i was still in uk cos i emailed them about my trip there. haha.. i would say it's God who gave me the urge to go online.. everything is just more than mere coincidence.. and i would have missed the chance totally if i checked my mail when i reached yvette's place. and i replied giving them my hp number cos i have no more access to internet anymore. and the next morning.. they called and ask me to go down for the interview the very afternoon!! i was so so so so happy!! and im really glad for all the help they gave me in arranging a slot for me in such a short time and tight schedule.
looking for the dental school in manchester was the first time i really got lost in manchester. it was just horrible la.. luckily i left 2 hrs earlier.. haha. the interview was fine.. only that they asked some questions i wasnt too clear about.. but i will say im pleased with how i replied. got to know some new friends there and to realise that they are all younger than me by quite a lot!!! oh wells. and the tour ended about 3 plus.
then i decided to visit their big big shopping centre.. the trafford centre. and it was really really really huge. maybe two or three times that of vivo-city? i dun really know.. cos i din manage to cover every part of the shopping centre. and they have nice decorations everywhere.. even have a chinatown and new orleans within the shopping centre. the only thing was tt it was quite far from city and isnt easy to get to without the shuttle bus
the last night at the hostel was hell!! i met an indian lady who was like a bit crazy!! actually quite crazy!! oh my!!! she was like talking to herself in some language i cannot understand and keep laughing to herself. den she was making weird signs and doing some actions tt i think was totally crazy. so i went to bed very early tt night.. fearing her.. i even held my bible to sleep that night. i was totally scared la!! im glad it's only for a night. and for the next few nights.. i get scared whenever i think of her.
ok.. i have to get to sleep now and try to get my day back to night and night back to day. have to start work tml also =( will blog on london and paris as soon as i can!! =)
cheers.
says me`7:21 AM
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