Finally managed to upload all and I really mean all of my Easter trip pictures as well as whatever photos taken on previous travel trips on Facebook after a major organising. I mean it's really insane...154 albums in Facebook as of final count....omfg...
The link to the first destination of the Easter trip (Berlin) is http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=34166&l=fcf8a&id=603032546
Included short descriptions of what I did and visited where too.
So do enjoy the pictures, will only start blogging on the various destinations when I return to S'pore and hopefully have a bit more time to myself. The blog's gonna get quiet for awhile as it's now on to the exams and mugging!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Movie Outing (28 May 08)
Movies on Wednesdays at the Reel movie theatre are much cheaper at 3.50 GBP (weekday cheaper than weekend theory still holds true anywhere in the world :p) so we decided to head down to catch a movie....any movie....just because we are so deprived of a movie experience....can't remember what was my last movie that I watched but it has definitely gotta be in the last June holidays though....
Loughborough was surprisingly crowded on that night, well actually just the cinema, the rest of the town was pretty dead as usual....narrowed our choice of movies to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull and Sex and the City...(no interest in Sex though...did not catch the TV drama and I knew that it was gonna be a happily ever after ending anw)
Side note: realised that the advertisements played in the cinemas in UK all come tagged first with the rating guidance which is interesting, however found that most of the advertisements were quite "huh?!" or wtf moments.....those kind that wld leave u feeling blur....hmm...British humour...
Indiana Jones was campy and just plain bad....think I prefer watching the first few films (Last Crusade and Temple of Doom). They had more class and was more naturedly funny....this one....man.....can't even describe how bad it was man.....
Oh well....we wanted to watch a movie and we got it...just that no good movies out yet....waiting to watch the Dark Knight though....think tt one's gonna really kick ass!! The Joker rules!
Loughborough was surprisingly crowded on that night, well actually just the cinema, the rest of the town was pretty dead as usual....narrowed our choice of movies to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull and Sex and the City...(no interest in Sex though...did not catch the TV drama and I knew that it was gonna be a happily ever after ending anw)
Side note: realised that the advertisements played in the cinemas in UK all come tagged first with the rating guidance which is interesting, however found that most of the advertisements were quite "huh?!" or wtf moments.....those kind that wld leave u feeling blur....hmm...British humour...
Indiana Jones was campy and just plain bad....think I prefer watching the first few films (Last Crusade and Temple of Doom). They had more class and was more naturedly funny....this one....man.....can't even describe how bad it was man.....
Oh well....we wanted to watch a movie and we got it...just that no good movies out yet....waiting to watch the Dark Knight though....think tt one's gonna really kick ass!! The Joker rules!
Funfairs!! (26 May 08)
Another Spring bank holiday, the 2nd here in the UK so far. This time though...more people were mugging (yes...ang mohs do mug too.....not everyone is slack de), although there were some activities going on.. First up was this small street carnival organised by the International Students Association...basically several international students were waving their country flags and marching down from the library to the Union chanting and blaring away at their car horns...making as much noise as possible....hmm...although one would have mistaken them as drunkards at such an early time of the day...
A cool funfair in town, with rides!!
Turned around the corner cos I was attracted to the beat of music coming from there...only to find that there were free salsa lessons going on in the town centre! Apparently it was a live street performance for the music and arts...and salsa was one of the highlights...rather delightful to see passers-by getting into the groove....for the record...I've attended salsa lessons b4 so what they did was really basic yet easy enough to follow through :p
The salsa dance instructor on the stage...man...she's damn hot la!! Definitely much better than my former instructors (MILF and a gayish dude)....lolol
This cool couple were the only ones who knew how to dance salsa and they were invited on stage to perform!!
Other events included a stage and band performance on the other side of the town centre....rather entertaining!!
On the whole, this little funfair just really showed how small and cosy Loughborough really is...and why I feel this is quite a nice and small community to be in...it's something which you won't really get in the larger cities.
For more pics, go http://picasaweb.google.com/eicko2000/BankHoliday
They mobbed a passing car!!
They did not even spare the poor fountain outside Hazlerigg Hall!! 
Met Christina Zhang at the event and chatted with her for awhile....hmm...she's still as scary with her thick make-up and cheong-sam as usual...made my exit after the parade ended at the Union, only to bump into Michelle buying milk...which reminded me to head down to town, which surprisingly led to me discovering another event happening in town...
A cool funfair in town, with rides!!
More stalls set up in the town centre
Turned around the corner cos I was attracted to the beat of music coming from there...only to find that there were free salsa lessons going on in the town centre! Apparently it was a live street performance for the music and arts...and salsa was one of the highlights...rather delightful to see passers-by getting into the groove....for the record...I've attended salsa lessons b4 so what they did was really basic yet easy enough to follow through :p
The salsa dance instructor on the stage...man...she's damn hot la!! Definitely much better than my former instructors (MILF and a gayish dude)....lolol
This cool couple were the only ones who knew how to dance salsa and they were invited on stage to perform!!
Other events included a stage and band performance on the other side of the town centre....rather entertaining!!
On the whole, this little funfair just really showed how small and cosy Loughborough really is...and why I feel this is quite a nice and small community to be in...it's something which you won't really get in the larger cities.
For more pics, go http://picasaweb.google.com/eicko2000/BankHoliday
Nuts!!!
Found this Nuts magazine lying around while waiting for the coach back to Loughborough. In the UK, Nuts and Zoo are the porn magazines around and I must say they are really mild. It's openly sold in the Loughborough Students Union too. Imagine FHM Singapore with the same lame sex jokes plus WTF stories except this time add more boobs and English soccer news. Right.......
A Musical Weekend (24 May 08)
Day trip down to London to chiong 2 musicals with WP, Ben and Wee Siong. Did not have a clue as to what to watch although Hairspray was the priority for me. Reached Leicester Square to book tickets yet our choice and budget was quite limited. Hairspray was going at 70 GBP minimum!! Insane price sia....so we settled for Lion King and We Will Rock You....but before that...a short detour to Chinatown where we spotted....
Durians!!! Can't remember seriously when was the last time I ate a durian in S'pore!!
Price was 5.50 GBP for a packet of 4 seeds, just nice for the 4 of us! :) Expensive though....but well worth it!!
Yummy creamy yellow!!
A walk through the Chinese supermarket showed some familiar sights like YEOS.
And since we were in Chinatown and most of us have already tried out Four Seasons as well as whatever duck that London had to offer, we decided on having Dim Sum lunch...YESH!! 2nd time in the week le....first being in Manchester!!
Nuff' said.....it's Dim Sum....what else can you ask for?
Think all of us miss the prawns that were in har gau...the prawns sold in the UK supermarkets are puny tiny pieces, but the ones served here are much bigger and have a nice and crunchier feel as you bite into them...
Heart-shaped mango pudding....chao sweet loh...
Arriving at the Lyceum Theatre for the Lion King musical for an afternoon matinee
My thoughts on the musical...felt that singing-wise it wasn't as powerful as I had hoped it to be...especially for the main songs "Circle of Life" and "Just Can't Wait to be King". Budden again, could also be due to our seating and the acoustics cos we were situated right smack at the topmost and last row of the theatre (hence the cheap price!) For the record, I have watched a musical version of the Lion King in Hong Kong Disneyland before, and I felt that the singing was way much better then...(heck.....the Lion King musical is probably the only redeeming thing about Hong Kong Disneyland....did not manage to catch the Paris Disneyland one though :()
But some things to really comment about this London musical though....it was nearly a scene-to-scene transition from the movie to the musical...and most importantly, the props and stage performance by some of the actors, especially the bird Zazu, the villian Scar, Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa were particularly memorable. Loved the opening scene and ending scene where the animals were gathering cos the props were simply amazing...esp. the giraffes and elephant...overall was quite an enjoyable experience! For a look at the props and how the animals were portrayed...check out this vid!
The whole performance of "Circle of Life"! The appearance of the animals were a crowd favourite both for the adults and children!
With some time to burn until the next musical, decided to walk around Long Acre Road for a bit of shopping...was at Ted Baker with WP and the rest until somebody called out to me...and I got the shock of my life....pleasant shock though...cos I bumped into Alex!! So random and unexpected la!! Always forever disappearing, not on Facebook or MSN or email...the other time the 4D guys thought that he was on sex or on drugs or something...lolol.....Anw was supposed to meet him in London for a meal during Easter but something cropped up and super unimaginable to meet under such circumstances..the dude was with his gf and I cldn't recognise him a bit cos he looked so beng...hahaha...anw...stood frozen to the street and chatted with him for some time...It's these random and little things in life that makes you feel that the world's really small after all... :)
Evening show for We Will Rock You!! Liked the look of the Dominion Theatre..
Price was 5.50 GBP for a packet of 4 seeds, just nice for the 4 of us! :) Expensive though....but well worth it!!
Yummy creamy yellow!!
A walk through the Chinese supermarket showed some familiar sights like YEOS.
And since we were in Chinatown and most of us have already tried out Four Seasons as well as whatever duck that London had to offer, we decided on having Dim Sum lunch...YESH!! 2nd time in the week le....first being in Manchester!!
Nuff' said.....it's Dim Sum....what else can you ask for?
Think all of us miss the prawns that were in har gau...the prawns sold in the UK supermarkets are puny tiny pieces, but the ones served here are much bigger and have a nice and crunchier feel as you bite into them...
Heart-shaped mango pudding....chao sweet loh...
Arriving at the Lyceum Theatre for the Lion King musical for an afternoon matinee
My thoughts on the musical...felt that singing-wise it wasn't as powerful as I had hoped it to be...especially for the main songs "Circle of Life" and "Just Can't Wait to be King". Budden again, could also be due to our seating and the acoustics cos we were situated right smack at the topmost and last row of the theatre (hence the cheap price!) For the record, I have watched a musical version of the Lion King in Hong Kong Disneyland before, and I felt that the singing was way much better then...(heck.....the Lion King musical is probably the only redeeming thing about Hong Kong Disneyland....did not manage to catch the Paris Disneyland one though :()
But some things to really comment about this London musical though....it was nearly a scene-to-scene transition from the movie to the musical...and most importantly, the props and stage performance by some of the actors, especially the bird Zazu, the villian Scar, Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa were particularly memorable. Loved the opening scene and ending scene where the animals were gathering cos the props were simply amazing...esp. the giraffes and elephant...overall was quite an enjoyable experience! For a look at the props and how the animals were portrayed...check out this vid!
The whole performance of "Circle of Life"! The appearance of the animals were a crowd favourite both for the adults and children!
With some time to burn until the next musical, decided to walk around Long Acre Road for a bit of shopping...was at Ted Baker with WP and the rest until somebody called out to me...and I got the shock of my life....pleasant shock though...cos I bumped into Alex!! So random and unexpected la!! Always forever disappearing, not on Facebook or MSN or email...the other time the 4D guys thought that he was on sex or on drugs or something...lolol.....Anw was supposed to meet him in London for a meal during Easter but something cropped up and super unimaginable to meet under such circumstances..the dude was with his gf and I cldn't recognise him a bit cos he looked so beng...hahaha...anw...stood frozen to the street and chatted with him for some time...It's these random and little things in life that makes you feel that the world's really small after all... :)
Evening show for We Will Rock You!! Liked the look of the Dominion Theatre..
I must admit that I was very first reluctant to watch this musical, but given the circumstances and prices, we did not really have much of a choice...but I must say that this is by far the best musical I have watched (total of 4 so far with Grease, Phantom of the Opera, Lion King and now We Will Rock You)and was totally surprised by it...
What's so good about this? Right down to the music (songs performed by the legendary Queen), the story plot (seriously corny yet refreshingly funny and enjoyable, the powerful vocals of ALL and i really mean ALL of the performers, the humour injected into it, and most importantly towards the end, the musical sorta evolved into a mini rock concert with a great atmosphere!
SO here's the story...it follows that sometime in the future, somehow all live music and musical instruments and rock music are banned and music is now manipulated by computers and run by the villians Killer Queen (who has powerful diva-like vocals) and her commander...the 2 main protagonists of the story have to find their way, with help from hippies and rock rebels (with weird-ass names like Victoria Beckam and Madonna) to bring rock music back to the world....Killer Queen is defeated when the main hero reveals the electric guitar and inspires with the song "We Will Rock You"!! Sounds corny enough? Hell yeah....but the thing is that with so much humour and the way Queen's songs are used scene after scene to tell the story really amazes me how they managed to come up with this stuff...
Can't really describe any further just how crazy this whole musical is...but here's a couple of vids to see..the songs are really nice!!
Managed to find some good vids of the musical with full length performances...the cast in it are of course different.
Starting of the musical...loved the portrayal of the Gaga boys and girls showing a futuristic yet boring world...brainwashed nerds!
The songs "I Want to Break Free" and "Somebody to Love". 2 songs that I really liked and intro of the 2 main leads
Introduction of the villians, Killer Queen and her commander. Preferred the Killer Queen in the musical I watched to this one on Youtube...she was much more fiercer and domineering in it!
Capture of the leads and their escape!
Meeting with "Victoria Beckam", which is actually the black guy! In this video, he's "Britney Spears"! So I guess they keep changing the names to mock current artistes! Hideout of the rebels with funky outfits and names! This scene cracked me up!
"Crazy little thing called love" performed by the rebels! Catchy tune! But ends with the capture of the rebels and the end of the first segment of the musical.
Opening act of the 2nd part of the musical after the interlude. The Gaga boys and girls again singing "One Vision". More brain-washing stuff!
"Don't Stop Me Now" and "Another One Bites the Dust"! Killer Queen gets rid of her second-in-command in style!
And of course not forgetting the finale "We Will Rock You"!!
For more pics, go http://picasaweb.google.com/eicko2000/LondonMusicalWeekend
Friday, May 23, 2008
Mixed Relief
Finally managed to finish all coursework (YESSH!!), which more or less means the end of term is nearing = exams coming up = summer trip!! = more travelling = end of SEP. Kinda having mixed feelings abt this...felt like haven't gotten enough of Europe and life in Loughborough has really been good so far. There's really so much more things to do yet not enough time and $$ to do it all!! Hehe...damn greedy...:p
Many thanks!!
Omg...was really surprised to see mails today from the US coming from Huiling and Yeeling. Really loved the postcards and gifts sent! Stanford keychain from Huiling and a really innovative approach by Yeeling by printing out photos as a postcard. Thanks girls!
Hurray for the Reds!!
Small update here....Man Utd won the Barclays Premier League and their trophy cup was displayed during my trip to Old Trafford. And now they too have won the UEFA cup finals in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out against Chelsea. I was watching the match on my roomie's laptop in our room....It was hilarious that he got super emotional throughout the whole thing...shouting and kneeling on the floor as the penalty shoot-out was taken player after player..No side that I actually favour....but then can't help but root for Man Utd...hey after all...it's barely 24 hours since I paid my homage to their home ground, yah?
The news is all here: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=700280.html
The news is all here: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=700280.html
All Things Red!! (20 May 08)
Left for Manchester on Monday night. It was a hurried decision cos the Old Trafford tour was only available on Tuesday and Thursday, and I had a test and classes on Wednesday. The stadium officals were all headed down to Moscow for the UEFA championship finals..so nobody's gonna be arnd..And after all, ppl come to Manchester for mainly Old Trafford..ain't much to do there (as confirmed by Colin and Junxiong, 2 mech eng friends who are also SEPing in University of Manchester)Felt that Manchester was more disorderly with a heavier presence of drunkards than Loughborough...heck there was even a riot last week i heard...all in the name of soccer...
For the record, I'm not really a soccer fan...I can't even tell who is who in the game and I don't really give a shit who's in wat club or got bought out for how many grand...only just prefer to watch the game...and esp. during the World Cup...but in any case, Old Trafford is a MUST for anybody visiting Manchester. Pay your soccer homage!! Whether u are soccer-crazy or not....
For the record, I'm not really a soccer fan...I can't even tell who is who in the game and I don't really give a shit who's in wat club or got bought out for how many grand...only just prefer to watch the game...and esp. during the World Cup...but in any case, Old Trafford is a MUST for anybody visiting Manchester. Pay your soccer homage!! Whether u are soccer-crazy or not....
The University of Manchester...spanning across the city along Oxford Road..very SMU like...
Magic bus...the public bus used to zip arnd Manchester...frequently used by the Uni students...
Magic bus 250 to reach Old Trafford...Magic!!
Entrance to the museum and stadium tour for 7 GBP. The lanyard that came with it was also included in the price...a very nice memento!
The spoils of victory of Manchester United in the museum...they have a whole room dedicated to their trophies..
Jerseys and equipment worn by past players
Views of the Stadium
Nike is everywhere sia....
The Munich Air Disaster..did not know what it was abt at first, but it's a real big thing and an interesting piece of fact I learnt in Manchester today...it's actually an airplane crash that killed several promising Man Utd players from the "Busby Babes", staff and journalists in 1958...this year's the 50th anniversary of remembrance...the survivors went on to become great soccer legends in their own right..
Guess this has to be the biggest attraction within the stadium...the dressing room for the players and where Alex Ferguson gives his prep talk to the team...
Jerseys of the players hung up to display their seating location
Had no idea who's who...only heard of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney so of cos I went straight up to take a photo of those jerseys!!
Tour ended off at the pitch level of the stadium...
Bathed in a sea of red in the Mega Store of Man Utd!! WP looked realy blended in with the store cos she had a red jacket on too...lolol
Posing with the Red Devil....Man Utd's mascot!
Following Rooney's pose...keke
A final view of the stadium, with the statue of Sir Matt Busby in the background
Time was short as WP and I had to catch the 1600 bus out..a pity that we could not visit the nearby Imperial War Museum...headed back to Manchester Central where WP's friend, Michelle, introduced us to Tai Wu Restaurant for DIM SUM!!! Muhahaha....seriously worth it cos it's half price during lunchtime and the last time I had DIM SUM was before I left Singapore!! Yummyss!! Egg tart first on the menu...and it was the last few ones left!!
Yummy!! Nothing to say sia...
Me, WP and JY obviously very satisfied after the lunch!
Left with WP to return to Loughborough. JY stayed on to watch the upcoming finals for the UEFA cup....made a short stopover at Birmingham where we decided to buy Krispy Kreme for everybody back in Loughborough!
Krispy Kreme production line! The outlet's situated in the Bullring shopping mall in Birmingham...liked the idea that we cld see the donuts being baked fresh!
Another reason why this outlet is so popular is that it gives out free donuts to the customers...so ppl do actually camp there for donuts without buying..received a sugar-glazed donut...yums!!
Magic bus...the public bus used to zip arnd Manchester...frequently used by the Uni students...
Magic bus 250 to reach Old Trafford...Magic!!
Entrance to the museum and stadium tour for 7 GBP. The lanyard that came with it was also included in the price...a very nice memento!
The spoils of victory of Manchester United in the museum...they have a whole room dedicated to their trophies..
Jerseys and equipment worn by past players
Views of the Stadium
Nike is everywhere sia....
The Munich Air Disaster..did not know what it was abt at first, but it's a real big thing and an interesting piece of fact I learnt in Manchester today...it's actually an airplane crash that killed several promising Man Utd players from the "Busby Babes", staff and journalists in 1958...this year's the 50th anniversary of remembrance...the survivors went on to become great soccer legends in their own right..
Guess this has to be the biggest attraction within the stadium...the dressing room for the players and where Alex Ferguson gives his prep talk to the team...
Jerseys of the players hung up to display their seating location
Had no idea who's who...only heard of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney so of cos I went straight up to take a photo of those jerseys!!
Tour ended off at the pitch level of the stadium...
Bathed in a sea of red in the Mega Store of Man Utd!! WP looked realy blended in with the store cos she had a red jacket on too...lolol
Posing with the Red Devil....Man Utd's mascot!
Following Rooney's pose...keke
A final view of the stadium, with the statue of Sir Matt Busby in the background
Time was short as WP and I had to catch the 1600 bus out..a pity that we could not visit the nearby Imperial War Museum...headed back to Manchester Central where WP's friend, Michelle, introduced us to Tai Wu Restaurant for DIM SUM!!! Muhahaha....seriously worth it cos it's half price during lunchtime and the last time I had DIM SUM was before I left Singapore!! Yummyss!! Egg tart first on the menu...and it was the last few ones left!!
Yummy!! Nothing to say sia...
Me, WP and JY obviously very satisfied after the lunch!
Left with WP to return to Loughborough. JY stayed on to watch the upcoming finals for the UEFA cup....made a short stopover at Birmingham where we decided to buy Krispy Kreme for everybody back in Loughborough!
Krispy Kreme production line! The outlet's situated in the Bullring shopping mall in Birmingham...liked the idea that we cld see the donuts being baked fresh!
Another reason why this outlet is so popular is that it gives out free donuts to the customers...so ppl do actually camp there for donuts without buying..received a sugar-glazed donut...yums!!
And so that marked the end of our little soccer pilgrimage to the famous Man Utd stadium. Thanks to Colin and Junxiong for putting us up for the night even though they had exams the next morning. Thanks to Michelle too for intro-ing really gr8 DIM SUM!!
For more pics, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/eicko2000/Manchester
For more pics, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/eicko2000/Manchester
Toby Carvery = Yum Yum!! (17 May 08)
Spent the weekend lazing abt and shopping for some summer clothes....The weather's been really very very hot....it's as if spring never came and summer hopped right in....budden the UK weather is really unpredictable....just this week (24 May) feels like it's back to winter-ish nights again.... Anw SH brought her friend, Vanessa, to Loughborough and we hosted her over the weekend. Saturday was spent having dinner at Toby Carvery. It's this really nice restaurant serving English meals and it's a buffet before 6pm at only 5 GBP! A pity the buffet is for the vegetables though....would have loved more Yorkshire pudding with more meat!! The Yorkshire pudding was also the standard size (that of a bowl). The ones I had at my HOSTUK place was mini-me version....this is the authentic one! Another hidden gem found in Loughborough...and to think it's actually less than 5 min walk to the TESCO's direction!
A bit of grocery shopping at TESCOs...somehow it's really common for us to take our guests to shopping for more groceries...guess tt's a favourite past-time abt...or maybe it's because there ain't really much to do in Loughborough...lolol.. Ended up with Ben and Jerry's ice-cream for dessert!
Oh...and SH taught me and WP how to make Oreo cheesecake, with the Oreos being supplied by me...keke...involved grounding up the oreos and mixing it with gelatin then laying it as a base in a aluminium foiled pan. Rest of the oreo crumbs were mixed with cottage cheese and then spread over the base. WP even decorated the top by sprinkling the remaining oreo crumbs. The result is a real flower on the cake! The cheesecake was then left overnight in the refrigerator. Hmm....sounds simple eh?
Oh...and SH taught me and WP how to make Oreo cheesecake, with the Oreos being supplied by me...keke...involved grounding up the oreos and mixing it with gelatin then laying it as a base in a aluminium foiled pan. Rest of the oreo crumbs were mixed with cottage cheese and then spread over the base. WP even decorated the top by sprinkling the remaining oreo crumbs. The result is a real flower on the cake! The cheesecake was then left overnight in the refrigerator. Hmm....sounds simple eh?
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