Latest Update :

FAQ has got 9 ulcers now..really dunno wat's wrong wif her wor..already drowned her in liang teh..gurgle salt water..even went to the chinese supermarket to buy 'pi pa gao' & chin chow..still, she got no voice..

Speaking of the chin chow..quite funny..first time eat chin chow out of a can..after struggling with the can opener(it's not working very well), we realised it's plain chin chow wifout the syrup..so we dissolved some sugar in hot water & poured it over the chin chow..it turned out to be quite 'professional-tasting'..heh

Nothing much for the day otherwise..it was a bank holiday over here & half of the shops were not opened..

Wat's for lunch tmr..?

Breakfast Disaster

This morning's breakfast was really a failure..we had bought garlic bread from M&S the day before and i was looking forward to hot garlic toast this morning..

We happily went to the hostel kitchen & according to the instructions, we need to heat it up in the oven..we were looking high & low for the oven heating pans before we saw a couple of them hanging..but one look at them, we knew we wouldn't use them..they looked like they have not been washed for ages..we were quite disappointed as the rest of the cutlery were reasonably decent..

Without an oven to toast our garlic bread..we had only 2 choices - to throw it away or to try heating up in the microwave (which was not mentioned on the packaging). Being the giam gannas, we naturally went for the latter option. And so, we threw the bread into the microwave..

10 mins later, the loaf seemed heated up enough..it smells quite good actually..but when i tried to poke it with my fork, it wouldn't poke thru..not even the knife can cut thru..failure #1

Not satisfied with rock-hard bread, we attempted to make half-boiled eggs..threw 3 eggs into the hot water & the 3 of us power-stared at the bowl..

5 mins later, FAQ got impatient and cracked open an egg..still as raw as ever lor..cracked another one, still the same results..we waved our little white flag up & opted for scrambled eggs instead..failure #2

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FAQ was still not feeling too good(she really fa re..at last count, she had 7 ulcers) so she stayed behind in the hostel today..in the meantime, cordell & i decided to go out to Wells & Glastonbury..2 little countryside towns off Bristol..

While waiting for the bus to Wells, this guy starting talking to us..and since he was heading the same way, we took the bus together..wat a talkative guy! it's rather unusual for the english to be so chatty..so i was rather surprised by how much he can yak..he almost talked non-stop for the 1 hr journey..

He's quite a nice guy lah..been to Sg before..also had a working holiday stint in Australia..on the way, he also recommended us to skip Wells & head directly to Glastonbury..it wasn't too idea a suggestion cos i found Glastonbury to be quite a charming place..there's this little hill called Glastonbury Tor & the views from up there was quite nice..

Back at the hostel, we have a few decisions to make..where should we go next? Our initial plans were to head southwest towards Cornwall but FAQ & cordell were quite concerned with the bus tickets (they cost a lot more than what we expected)..or shall we settle down here for a while since there seemed to be quite a lot of employment agencies around here..?

Stayed tuned..

Bath Time

Woke up this morning to find tat the temp had gone down again..it means time to dig out the jacket..sigh..

Anyway, we packed our lunch(sandwiches lor, wat else) and caught a local bus out to Bath. It's quite nearby, took us about 45 mins to reach the town centre of Bath. Bustling place, prob cos it was Saturday..

Reached the main square & decided to munch our lunch first..u really tend to eat more in cold weather..after tat, they wanted to go in to the Roman Baths but i wasn't too on..was never too keen in spas & stuff before..a quick check at the admission prices made me reaffirm my decision not to go in - entry charges was £9.50pp. No way am i gonna pay those prices to see some bath tubs..

And so, they went in and i just wandered along those streets..got xian after a while since i couldn't afford to buy anything anyway, so i sat down on a bench & people watched..

2 hours later, they emerged from the baths satisfied..took a quick peek at their digital photos & thankfully, i didn't regret not going in..

We then walked down to a Saturday market but was a bit of a disappointment..u could count the no of stalls on both hands..but i perked up at the sight of Waitrose (the equivalent of Cold Storage back home)..went in & came out with yet another bag of groceries : )

On the way back to Bristol, i was entertained by this group of young lads..ave age about 20 - 22..they were singing for most of the journey, complete with feet tapping & finger clicking..basically, they just sang watever came to their heads and/or watever they saw along the way - a phenomenon not exactly alien to me..Eg. the bus went past a Mac & they burst out in unison 'I'm loving it..'

And i wonder...are those people still singing as much as they do back in Sg?

Here @Bristol

Tat's right..i've arrived at Bristol..there's this part of the city called @Bristol where they have their IMAX Theatre, Science Centre, etc..

Met up with cordell & FAQ yesterday afternoon(ah blur had to fly back to Sg to attend to some urgent matters) and we took a coach from London down to Bristol. Wat could have been a 2.5 hrs ride turned out to be a 3+ hr ride..hmm..reminds me of a bus ride i took in this 'far far land'..

We're sharing the dorm with 3 very happening ang mo cha bos..went partying & came back at 3am last nite..or should i say this morning..interrupting my beauty sleep in the process.. : /

FAQ is not feeling too well so we didn't move about too much today..just walked around the town centre and went grocery shopping for our meals for the next 2 days (we'll be staying here for 4 nites)..uh-oh, i'm becoming like the sisters..getting obsessed with my next meal..

Anyway, we went to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge in the afternoon..supposedly a symbol for Bristol..k lah, quite nice lah..

And hee..i managed to jog again just now..& in t-shirt & shorts too..it must have been about 22 degrees today..comfortable weather..

Depending on FAQ's condition tmr, we might make a day trip to Bath..see how lah..

Lovely Weather(finally)

Yup..i would say today's weather was quite..nice(wat other adjectives can be used to describe weather?)

Stepped out of the house..a bit windy..but it's the refreshing kinda of breeze..cool (literally)

Today's her day off..& since her sister just finished her exams too.. we went out for dim sum(finally a meal where we didn't have to think of wat to cook) Not too bad..as authentic as the ones back in Sg..actually if u know where to look for it..they serve pretty decent, if not better, chinese food here..

She wanted to go for a haircut but couldn't get an appt..oh ya, toking about hair..i realise my hair's become more manageable since i came over..maybe it's due to the low humidity or something..i dun even need to comb my hair when i get out of bed in the morning..(well, my hair looks pretty neat in the photos, doesn't it?) finally, one plus point about the weather here..

Anyway, so we went to this place - Southall..kinda like Little India..the whole row of streets are selling Indian stuff..even the supermarket reminds me of Mustafa..

And surprise surprise, she bought a Punjabi (wat's the fascination about Punjabi..why not sari? would u like to enlighten me? Ms i-bought-punjabis-too?)

As we were walking along the streets..i started to perspire..first time i'm feeling warm & i was just wearing a t-shirt & a long-sleeve tee..

Thought it was a bit wasteful not to run in such good weather..but oh well, i think i did my workout for the day - carrying shopping bags : Þ

I finally did it..

To jog, tat is..i've been saying tat for as long as i'm here..today, i finally plucked up enuf courage to go out there in the mad weather & run..

I had planned to jog at my 'usual hour' - 6pm..at least there'll be some familarity..5+ came & i started to get ready..

Wat's there to get ready u might ask? Plenty..first on the list of cos is weather check..stuck my head out of the window..hmm..some sunshine..check..next is the running gear..not much of a choice for the bottoms since i have only 1 pair of track pants (i still dun have the courage to run in shorts)

As for the top..a bit of a headache..haven't jogged in such cold weather since i last jogged in Macau where i ended up with a headache cos of the cold wind : / Decided on a dri-fit singlet, a dri-fit long-sleeve & my gola jacket..omigod..feel like a ba zhang..

Off i go..took a turn at the corner of the street & went into a residential area..very 'england-looking' indeed..15 mins into the jog..still barely perspiring..which is rather strange cos i would usually be dripping with sweat back in Sg by now..

Feeling a little heavy though..seldom do i run in so many layers..opps, feel my pants slipping a bit..hope they dun fall off..yet..

Another 15 mins later..started to perspire..in fact, getting a bit warm inside..decided to unzip my jacket..wrong move, the wind got in & i started to shiver..up goes the zip..

30 mins..starting to pant liao..decided to call it a day & headed home..back home, i did my routine workout..some pushups & dips..think instructor will shake her head & say i 'muscle imbalance'..but these are the easier exercises tat i can do wifout equipment mah..

The workout did help to increase my body temperature slightly..managed to walk around the house in just t-shirts & shorts after tat..

Yes, it feels good to be able to workout & i look forward to my next workout again : )

A Lazy Sunday

Can't believe it..i actually woke up with muscle aches on my legs this morning..it must be all the walking yesterday..

As mentioned in my previous blog..i was out for 10 hours yest..& was on my feet most of the time..yup, even my meals were on the move(since i couldn't afford to sit down in a restaurant)..couldn't even sit down on a bench or somewhere since it was raining on & off the whole day..

Oh, i didn't mention the park yest..i had chanced upon the Regent's Park & decided to have a stroll inside(like i didn't have enuf of walking..zhen shi you dian huo gai)..then ambitious me decided to cut across the park to the other exit..but did u know how long this 'stroll' took me? 1 hour..yes, 1 hour just to get out of the park..

Anyway, i decided to take it easy today(as if i've not for the past week)..woke up at 1130..the cold weather + the warm covers made it easy to chalk 10 - 12 hours of sleep everyday..dun be too jealous folks..hehehe *evil laughs*

Had my brunch..nothing spectatular..peanut butter bread..well, wat do expect from me? But i must say the peanut butter back in Sg tastes better..somehow the peanut butter here tastes weird..kinda salty..

But increasingly i finding it difficult to upkeep my 'white diet'..u know, she likes to experiment with food(rem how their conversations revolve around meals?)..& so, i've sort of become a guinea pig for her..yest was hokkien mee..haha, yes, the very hokkien mee i brought over..

Earlier in the afternoon, she was in the mood for some croissants..she had bought some ready-to-bake mixture the other day from the supermarket and it turned out to be like..well..croissants..& so, 3 croissants, complete with tuna topping, went in me..

Dinner just now was laksa(also airflown via ZXL Courier)..followed by some chocolates which i had bought from Camden Market yest..

Anyway..all i wanna say is..most of the food in the fridge is gone & it's time for another trip to the supermarket tmr :p