London – December’13

London! The name that makes you go wow!! Yeah of course I also got wowed over the fact that I get to have a day of stopover before embarking on my epic Northern Europe trip (as referred to by my friend) but.. It was the Murphy’s law realized at its truest for me. I had my train stopped and delayed for an hour ON THE TRACKS because of some random trespasser. According to the PA system, he was suspected to be hiding in the bush (??) and the train will not move until they are clear..
and then a very weird guy beside me started chanting. It was really creepy.

After which the big storm came on that night when we were supposed to visit winter wonderland. There u go, yeah I missed it. And according to my Londoner friend.. It doesn’t really pour like this in London. And then our train to Gatwick got cancelled. We counted, it was about 10 consecutive unfortunate events which my friend said, was bad luck on yours truly. Hahaha. So my impression on London became wow, wth? Haha. But I grew to love it a lot la, after my next few visits here(will update more on that later)

St Pancras station! Known for that non existent platform Harry potter ran into. And also, the main station where most trains drop at (euston as well) . I love that organic ceiling btw.

For those thinking of taking up those popular summer courses of CSM, here’s a peak on their campus at granary square, just behind st pancras.

Fortnum and mason! It was so Christmassy there with orchestral playing at one of the levels, all the Xmas decors and yes, go have afternoon tea at The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon 4th floor, which was opened by HM the Queen! I haven’t got to try so let me know if it is worth the rave!

Then of course, it is the must see Big Ben and London Eye. I recently saw the back portion of the Big Ben, amazing really. Because I didn’t think too much of the front portion as shown above.

Burger and Lobster! I would say worth going! But please go in advance to get a seat, they don’t take reservations for less than 4pax and 60% of their seats are kept available for walkins. The restaurant’s busiest hours are between 6-7pm. Why do I know so clearly? Because they wrote me an email rejecting my reservation lately and this was what they told me. #jusysaying

Ahahaha ready for my white Xmas holiday and better luck ahead!

This was after my white Xmas holiday, anyway it is common for us to fly from London to Europe because it’s cheaper. These were taken at Oxford Circus Regent Street where all the shops are – shoppers please take note! And we had tea at The Cafe which Jay told me celebrities frequent that cafe. So we went there, hoping to be star struck or scouted (just kidding) haha but the cakes are really nice la. Try the one with an orange tube in the middle of the cake, nice!

Next up is my epic Northern Europe trip, stay tuned cause I’ve got to run and pack now!

Chester – November’13

To Chester for some pre-xmas shopping! Chester is also about an hour train ride away from Manchester, see so convenient!

Along the streets of Chester, man look at the crowd! It was surprising cause yknw other than London, uk is quite sparsely populated which makes the people living here (ie me) getting crowd phobic, after being here for awhile.

Visit central perk cafe! A cafe here that is inspired by the coffee shop in Friends 🙂

While walking along streets of Chester.. Honestly I’m not a fan of winter, everywhere just looks grey brown and dead..

But there were some on going pre Xmas events that day that made the place livelier!

Main objective of the trip! Cheshire oaks designers outlet stores. They’ve for brands like Adidas, Amani, Burberry etc and even whittard(our favourite tea shop) so we’ve got some real steals here! It is about half hour bus ride in from the city and I think it is possible to spend a few hours here so come early!

Christmas market! I was really really excited and fascinated with Christmas markets because that was so new. It’s not like pasar malam in Singapore ok. For fans of Xmas like myself, Xmas markets are like the epitome of living through Xmas (actually ok maybe just the pre Xmas, my Xmas trip coming up next). My friend Caroline and myself even had the crazy idea of going to every towns and cities in uk to check out their Xmas markets haha. BUT, imo Manchester has one of the best Xmas market around!!

🙂

York – November’13

We’ve heard a lot about York being one of the most beautiful town in UK and so one weekend, we decided to do a daytrip there which is also about 1.5 hour train away from Manchester. Haha despite its horrible weather, Manchester does have a good strategic location being in the middle of UK.


Rare moments when Peggy is out with us haha.

The first thought that came to mind was, ‘ no wonder the rave about this place’. It was such a huge contrast from Manchester (yeah of course) and it has this quiet charm to it and I thought that was because of the medieval heritage and buildings. But first stop, had to try Betty’s when in York!

Us, while queuing for Betty’s, they are known for the wait so be prepared!

Betty’s worth a try, although I didn’t think it was fantastic..

Streets of York.

Clifford Tower and view from top of it!

York Minster, the largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. Maybe because Xmas was coming, looking at the cathedral in chilly winter winds with orchestral music playing in the background was like a reminder that everything was going to be ok, yeah well I was pretty down and stressed out that time.

5pm and it was dark like 9pm already!

My friend recommended me to Drakes for their fish and chips. It was indeed one of the better fish and chips I’ve had so far but because I’m not a fan so ..

I hope to get ahead with blogging about my trips as I realise it is quite hard to recall now that it has been almost a year!

Blackpool – October’13

So.. The first town I travelled within uk happened to be.. Blackpool. It is about an hour and a half train from Manchester both Northwest of Uk. Ha nothing wrong with that place but the weather was such a downer. We were drenched and wet on the journey back home and actually we were already by half of the trip because we had no umbrellas. We went too far off the beach and then the rain just came….
Well, not all of us though. Some of them decided to go to the water amusement park and they said it was pretty fun.

To be honest, the beach was nothing fantastic. But the town itself does invoke certain kind of nostalgia, bringing you back to the old 60s theme parks with bright lights.

Haha we had to stopover at Preston so I’ve been to Preston! Only recalled when I saw this photo..

Some of the photos we took along the way.. Ahh at that time we just got to know one another or rather I just got to know them as they were classmates since July. Feels kind of surreal looking back and now, a year has passed and we are like family now!

And that is the famous roller coaster from the Blackpool Pleasure Beach!

I can’t write too much about this place because we didn’t get to do much there due to weather. But still, if you are one who loves amusement and theme parks, then this place is worth a go (of course check the forecast beforehand, the weather forecast for that day we went would be thunderstorm man) Oh although I heard Alton towers is really more exciting!

Day 001

Here’s some photos of where I’ve been living for the past 7 months. To me, it was the first taste of independence ( a little too late huh haha) having to set up everything from scratch. Had to get beddings first thing I’ve settled in or I have nothing to sleep in. Didn’t even have a mirror when I had to dry my hair and had to use iPhone front camera!

Felt a little lost when I collected my flat but thank God soon enough I met my housemate and then we pretty much spent the first few days together which made settling in so much easier. Didn’t even have a SIM card for me to contact anyone..

First meal here and we were so happy and proud we managed to make that.
We didn’t even have salt just soy sauce I’ve bought from Singapore. Haha.

Took the rest of the week to get more household essentials from city centre. And man, it was raining on most days there was once we had to carry a mirror, a bin and other household items all the way from the busstop which was about 10min walk away! And then the rain and wind didn’t have mercy on us…

It’s normal and I pretty much got this from everyone that when u first arrived here, you tend to be ALOT thriftier than now to the extend it’s really quite miserable. Some examples include waiting an hour for the free shuttle bus in the cold cause u are carry too much stuff to walk but don’t want to spend money on bus or cabs. Sharing a meal with coupons Uve gotten from school orientation fairs. Queuing up for domino pizzas that’s one of my least fav pizza in the world but I got it anyway because it’s free. Haha but that doesn’t last long at all ( I’m glad it didn’t)

Hello August !

How apt this image I’ve come across in pininterest is, for me to start my first post with 🙂 leaving to a new place or new places with a suitcase.

Stopped updating in tumblr because it doesn’t seem to enable me to upload photos one by one and I’m quite particular about image layouts. Stopped updating in dayre because its doesn’t fit my idea of doing a post on a subject itself and it’s kind of weird that I write about say a certain trip on day 323 etc. Blogger is worse for me because of all the google plus sign ups etc and so I hope WordPress serves me well. Of course, these apps and blogging webs are great but I’ve got to admit that I’m not tech savvy enough to use them well.

Decided to start a blog again because I thought it will be really nice to write about my memories here in Manchester while my stint here is coming to an end. Also, Leigh told me last week that she will be excited to read about my travels. So.. I decided not to be selfish anymore and share more haha. (Queenie will roll her eyes at this haha)

So here I am welcoming August with a mixture of feelings. It is my last month here in Manchester before my Tier 4 visa expires. I’m trying to make the best of my remaining times left in Manchester with the understanding that all good things come to an end eventually and better plans are set in sight. I am excited as well.. A little overwhelmed to approach the next chapter of my life but this chapter has been filled with so much memories and experiences that I will always hold dear to my heart and almost reluctant to let it end.

I will slowly update this space concentrating on a topic at a time. Right now, I’m really beat having stayed up over the last few nights working on a proposal that well.. Shit happens and I’m feeling all beaten up now blaming myself for letting this happen. Ahh I hope tomorrow will be a better day xx