And here it is....the very very last night at Loughborough. Spent the night by last-min booking hostels and catching up..with a bit of orange and water-melon barcardi breezer to toast to. (7 GBP for 8 bottles...told ya booze was cheap here..) Mixed feelings.....setting off for another leg of unforgettable travel adeventure before heading back home....and yes....home meaning S'pore this time...yet at the same time a bit reluctant to leave quaint quiet little Loughborough. This SEP's been really magical and can't thank everybody (friends and company) who have impacted my life in one way or another for the past 5 months.
Anw...enough ramblings for now...blog's gonna be quiet again for the next 3 weeks as I depart for the next leg of travel for the summer. For the uninformed, this trip will include Madrid - Barcelona - Seville - Corduba - Granada - Krakow - Budapest - Bratislava - Frankfurt - Oslo - Flam - Bergen - London - and finally.....home! So best wishes to all....and I will be seeing my dear friends and family soon enough in sunny S'pore! Cheers!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Last day of Exams!!! Hurray!!!
Last paper on Management and Organisation on the 19th June. Feeling kinda sian at first cos this paper was towards the end of the exam period (last day of exams in Loughborough is on the 20th la!) But I must say was totally relieved when it came to an end after 2 hours of non-stop furious essay writing. Guess this pretty much marks the end of the academic exchange. Damn....some of the Brits were even drinking beer after the whole thing outside the exam hall!
Anw, went down to the Chem Eng dept to pick up some coursework with Wanping and Hazel. For Hazel, it's her first time stepping even further out from the Pilkington Library. (Remember it's always a 20min walk for us engineering ppl!!) Totally pleased that all my coursework and lab reports so far have gotten A+ ....i mean tt would seriously never ever happen in NUS.
Anw, went down to the Chem Eng dept to pick up some coursework with Wanping and Hazel. For Hazel, it's her first time stepping even further out from the Pilkington Library. (Remember it's always a 20min walk for us engineering ppl!!) Totally pleased that all my coursework and lab reports so far have gotten A+ ....i mean tt would seriously never ever happen in NUS.
Me and the official billboard for Chem Eng!
Hazel on her very blur first trip out to the Engineering dept!!
Me and Wanping pointing to our respective disciplines
Printing stuff at the Pilkington Library...and a bit of cam-whoring...lol
Also the last day for Michelle here in Loughborough, and we went over to bid her goodbye and a safe journey home. Our other HK neighbours will be moving out in the next few days too..
Hazel on her very blur first trip out to the Engineering dept!!
Me and Wanping pointing to our respective disciplines
Printing stuff at the Pilkington Library...and a bit of cam-whoring...lol
Also the last day for Michelle here in Loughborough, and we went over to bid her goodbye and a safe journey home. Our other HK neighbours will be moving out in the next few days too..
On a side note, received Yeeling's gift from the US too...have been too busy to check the mail at the reception...but anw thanks for the bottle opener!! Hey..I don't drink that much ok....hurhur...
Lao BenG's Birthday!
There we have it, finished my food engineering exam on the 16th, and just in time to celebrate my very own roomie's birthday! Was a really big party cos we invited Ben's British classmates (Jake, Rob and Dani), Michelle and Yuri (our HK neighbours), Debbie and Sarita (long-term Singaporeans studying here). In short, it was an absolute bash and the Brits brought quite a bit of alcohol along....(not tt Benjamin would mind!)
The cake...Lao-Beng is very subjective to interpretation....u can call it as lao4 beng2 as in old punk or Ben-G as in Benjamin Goh his full name or u can also do it the way I call him Ben-G (as in pronounced Benji) Cos I always tell him not to leave his little Ben-Gs all over the place (hahaha....only he and i know wat it means :p)
The birthday boy
And cereal's his present...bought as requested during Debbie's trip to Tesco and wrapped with Christmas wrapping paper! I got him stroopwafels from Amsterdam and stuck a note on his table...damn this guy can really eat...
Group photo
All of us had to wear this Lilo and Stitch hat tt Ben bought and wore it arnd Paris...looks damn silly and given his guts and sillyness....wat can i say....tt's my roomie! :p
Night ended with a couple of drinks and a short trip to the local bar in town for even more drinks. Had a go with the IPA and spent the night chatting up with everybody....all in all a very fun night!
The birthday boy
And cereal's his present...bought as requested during Debbie's trip to Tesco and wrapped with Christmas wrapping paper! I got him stroopwafels from Amsterdam and stuck a note on his table...damn this guy can really eat...
Group photo
All of us had to wear this Lilo and Stitch hat tt Ben bought and wore it arnd Paris...looks damn silly and given his guts and sillyness....wat can i say....tt's my roomie! :p
Night ended with a couple of drinks and a short trip to the local bar in town for even more drinks. Had a go with the IPA and spent the night chatting up with everybody....all in all a very fun night!
For more pics, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/eicko2000/LaoBengSBdae
Last week at Loughborough
Past few days have been a whirl of exams, farewells and a mix of emotions, so I will try to slowly break it up slowly and post as much as I can....
First up, this was done quite a while ago...us the Loughborough Perfect 10 went down to cam-whore at the Loughborough University sign at the main entrance. It's quite amazing how for the past 5 months, we have not even made the effort to take a group photo at the university signboard. (too lazy liaoz...hahaha) Had to wait till the last day when all 10 of us are present to do this..anw....here's some photos taken...
First up, this was done quite a while ago...us the Loughborough Perfect 10 went down to cam-whore at the Loughborough University sign at the main entrance. It's quite amazing how for the past 5 months, we have not even made the effort to take a group photo at the university signboard. (too lazy liaoz...hahaha) Had to wait till the last day when all 10 of us are present to do this..anw....here's some photos taken...
Group photos
Me and my over-enthusiastic roomie
I luv Loughborough!!
Me and my over-enthusiastic roomie
I luv Loughborough!!
For more photos, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/eicko2000/LoughboroughSignCamWhoring
Next up was the weekend where it was just left with me, Hazel and Wanping while the rest were away travelling. I had to study for my last 2 papers...so was kinda stuck arnd for a while....but anw we went to town, grabbed jacket potatoes (2.30 GBP with unlimited fillings = shiok!!) and even invited Michelle and her room-mate over for Toby Carvery (my 3rd time at Carvery loh!!), dinner and green bean soup (courtesy of Hazel).
Friday, June 13, 2008
Solo kia
Yay!! Back from my first solo trip of 10 days! I must say I really enjoyed the trip alot although there were moments of sian-ness. I guess there are pros and cons as to travelling alone. For example:
1. Able to set my own pace without worrying about others. Cos I tend to chiong alot. Usually wake up 7.30am in the morning so that I can head out early. Helps that with the longer daytime until 9pm, so that means I can get to cover alot in a day. However, also tiring in a way, cos if there were friends arnd, the pace would be slower and relaxed to a certain extent.
2. Challenging to travel on my own. Obtaining train timings, figuring out map directions, as well as gathering information on the spot, especially when it's in a foreign language. Gives me a bit of self-satisfaction knowing that I managed to do all these on my own. Only screwed up once on the first day to Amsterdam finding directions to my hostel...and it's no joke carrying all my stuff and trying to find my way abt in the evening. (Moral of the story: Don't trust the directions written in HostelWorld too much...might just end up staring at a canal!) But then again, it would be nice if there were friends to share the burden a bit..at least hor lan let's hor lan together mah!!! :p
3. No travel companion about = nobody help me take photos!!! Esp. crappy photos with my crappy poses!! Haha...I had to drag other ppl to help me take photos. And the prob is that usually the photos do not turn out looking good cos most ppl anihow take de...I even had cases where the person pointed my camera the other way arnd...hmm....I usually target tourists in groups or single travellers like me too to help take photos....met some interesting personalities like this on the way though....:p In addition, my zi4 pai1 skills have improved liaoz....hahaha!
4. With no travel companion to talk to, can get a bit boring at times. So this time i tend to talk more with strangers and other like-minded travellers on the journey. Met several ppl along the way, ranging from Americans to Germans, and especially in Luxembourg, there was this helpful German guy who helped orientate me so that I could plan where to go and at the bar, just chilled with the other travellers to watch the Euro Cup. Although in the end, it still does not compare with having a good friend or somebody u know travelling with u.
5. Safety-wise is always an issue, especially when travelling alone. So tt means being extra careful and alert at all times...at least in a group of friends, can help watch out for each other....like even simply leaving the bag for a while to go to the toilet (I always lug my whole bag into the toilet..hahaha!)....can also get tiring at times having to be aware and alert the whole time.
Haha.....so these are the ramblings of a first-time solo backpacker....now onto the trip itself...a short summary before posting pics and blogging..(damn.....so much backdated stuff sia...)
1. Amsterdam's a very very interesting place. It's the sex and weed capital!! So the Red Light District is really amusing to walk through, and especially so when u get everybody under the sun (or moonlight), from old aunties and uncles in tour groups to giggling couples, to groups of ppl travelling together, horny men, curious tourists all walking through the district. Other thoughts include Holland being a very bicycle-friendly place...perhaps the best so far. And of course, the countryside with its windmills are amazing....only thing lacking was the tulips.
2. Brussels...ahhh.....a bit disappointing cos the weather was bad...was raining the whole 3 days in Belgium. And I simply did not like the architecture and layout of the city. It's noisy and cosmopolitan, with a mix of weird new-age structures beside the old quarters....just simply weird...the stuff that made up for all these were of course Belgium desserts!! Waffles, fries, chocolate...yum!! And of cos comics!!
3. Belgium was not all that disappointing though...Ghent and Bruges were very pretty places....and really medieval towns. Bruges is prettier than Ghent, but a tad bit too touristy, whereas Ghent was more quaint, and had its own uniqueness from the huge central area with the Belfry and 3 cathedrals lined up. Bruges had the Basilica of the Holy Blood though...and I thought that was interesting cos it's supposedly said that the relic stored within holds the blood of Jesus Christ. Other than that, the usual Belgium delights like waffles and candies kicked in. :) And I even met Eric in Bruges.....I mean...how cool is it to meet your primary school classmate in Europe..and at all places in Bruges? Very coincidental yet nice at the same time!
4. Luxembourg is really unique. I have never seen a city like this...built upon several plateaus and cuts right through a valley. So this means the city has virtually several sub-levels that it is really possible to get hor lan here..and really tiring to walk up and down the place. Looking down from the top with most of the ancient fortifications intact, felt a bit like in Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings!! Heck u could even take an elevator from the bottom plateau to the main central at the top!! Simply unique!
5. The other countryside towns in Luxembourg were a delight too! Especially Vianden, cos the backdrop was so pretty. And because there was a chairlift to the top of the hill! And I have never sat on a chairlift before!! After that, it was a more relaxing day out in the countryside.
Ok....so these are my thoughts for my trip...now that I am back in Loughborough...it's back to mugging for the last 2 papers!!
1. Able to set my own pace without worrying about others. Cos I tend to chiong alot. Usually wake up 7.30am in the morning so that I can head out early. Helps that with the longer daytime until 9pm, so that means I can get to cover alot in a day. However, also tiring in a way, cos if there were friends arnd, the pace would be slower and relaxed to a certain extent.
2. Challenging to travel on my own. Obtaining train timings, figuring out map directions, as well as gathering information on the spot, especially when it's in a foreign language. Gives me a bit of self-satisfaction knowing that I managed to do all these on my own. Only screwed up once on the first day to Amsterdam finding directions to my hostel...and it's no joke carrying all my stuff and trying to find my way abt in the evening. (Moral of the story: Don't trust the directions written in HostelWorld too much...might just end up staring at a canal!) But then again, it would be nice if there were friends to share the burden a bit..at least hor lan let's hor lan together mah!!! :p
3. No travel companion about = nobody help me take photos!!! Esp. crappy photos with my crappy poses!! Haha...I had to drag other ppl to help me take photos. And the prob is that usually the photos do not turn out looking good cos most ppl anihow take de...I even had cases where the person pointed my camera the other way arnd...hmm....I usually target tourists in groups or single travellers like me too to help take photos....met some interesting personalities like this on the way though....:p In addition, my zi4 pai1 skills have improved liaoz....hahaha!
4. With no travel companion to talk to, can get a bit boring at times. So this time i tend to talk more with strangers and other like-minded travellers on the journey. Met several ppl along the way, ranging from Americans to Germans, and especially in Luxembourg, there was this helpful German guy who helped orientate me so that I could plan where to go and at the bar, just chilled with the other travellers to watch the Euro Cup. Although in the end, it still does not compare with having a good friend or somebody u know travelling with u.
5. Safety-wise is always an issue, especially when travelling alone. So tt means being extra careful and alert at all times...at least in a group of friends, can help watch out for each other....like even simply leaving the bag for a while to go to the toilet (I always lug my whole bag into the toilet..hahaha!)....can also get tiring at times having to be aware and alert the whole time.
Haha.....so these are the ramblings of a first-time solo backpacker....now onto the trip itself...a short summary before posting pics and blogging..(damn.....so much backdated stuff sia...)
1. Amsterdam's a very very interesting place. It's the sex and weed capital!! So the Red Light District is really amusing to walk through, and especially so when u get everybody under the sun (or moonlight), from old aunties and uncles in tour groups to giggling couples, to groups of ppl travelling together, horny men, curious tourists all walking through the district. Other thoughts include Holland being a very bicycle-friendly place...perhaps the best so far. And of course, the countryside with its windmills are amazing....only thing lacking was the tulips.
2. Brussels...ahhh.....a bit disappointing cos the weather was bad...was raining the whole 3 days in Belgium. And I simply did not like the architecture and layout of the city. It's noisy and cosmopolitan, with a mix of weird new-age structures beside the old quarters....just simply weird...the stuff that made up for all these were of course Belgium desserts!! Waffles, fries, chocolate...yum!! And of cos comics!!
3. Belgium was not all that disappointing though...Ghent and Bruges were very pretty places....and really medieval towns. Bruges is prettier than Ghent, but a tad bit too touristy, whereas Ghent was more quaint, and had its own uniqueness from the huge central area with the Belfry and 3 cathedrals lined up. Bruges had the Basilica of the Holy Blood though...and I thought that was interesting cos it's supposedly said that the relic stored within holds the blood of Jesus Christ. Other than that, the usual Belgium delights like waffles and candies kicked in. :) And I even met Eric in Bruges.....I mean...how cool is it to meet your primary school classmate in Europe..and at all places in Bruges? Very coincidental yet nice at the same time!
4. Luxembourg is really unique. I have never seen a city like this...built upon several plateaus and cuts right through a valley. So this means the city has virtually several sub-levels that it is really possible to get hor lan here..and really tiring to walk up and down the place. Looking down from the top with most of the ancient fortifications intact, felt a bit like in Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings!! Heck u could even take an elevator from the bottom plateau to the main central at the top!! Simply unique!
5. The other countryside towns in Luxembourg were a delight too! Especially Vianden, cos the backdrop was so pretty. And because there was a chairlift to the top of the hill! And I have never sat on a chairlift before!! After that, it was a more relaxing day out in the countryside.
Ok....so these are my thoughts for my trip...now that I am back in Loughborough...it's back to mugging for the last 2 papers!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
1 down 2 to go
First paper today in the morning. Polymer Processing. Honestly, I was first terrified of this module cos it's stuff like extrusion and materials science which I did not do very well in NUS. But was really glad the paper was easy. Big difference here is that spotting question topics to study really really helps over here!
Exam hall's in the David Wallace building and it seems like it is the only hall where 3 different papers were ongoing at the same time. Very NUS-feel when everybody was waiting outside the hall before the doors open. Only thing is that the waiting area is super packed and crowded at the narrow corridor cos it was raining outside. Same rules such as putting bags and belongings in the front apply. Interestingly, the invigilators do go abt searching through pencil boxes, to the point that they were playing arnd with JY's laser pointer!
Anw the paper was descriptive questions with some calculations. Was doing the paper halfway, but got a shock when the invigilator came over to tell me that my calculator is not in the approved list of calculators!! I was like super WTF!!! Lucky I finished my calculation question in time and I just shook my head when she asked if I was using the calculator!! Damn heng lah! Shit....must go beg borrow steal calculator liaoz...muhaha!
Returned to hall early cos I cleared the paper half an hour earlier! (Man...tt wld never never happen in NUS sia....) Was very excited to receive a card from Yaying, right after my exams too
Exam hall's in the David Wallace building and it seems like it is the only hall where 3 different papers were ongoing at the same time. Very NUS-feel when everybody was waiting outside the hall before the doors open. Only thing is that the waiting area is super packed and crowded at the narrow corridor cos it was raining outside. Same rules such as putting bags and belongings in the front apply. Interestingly, the invigilators do go abt searching through pencil boxes, to the point that they were playing arnd with JY's laser pointer!
Anw the paper was descriptive questions with some calculations. Was doing the paper halfway, but got a shock when the invigilator came over to tell me that my calculator is not in the approved list of calculators!! I was like super WTF!!! Lucky I finished my calculation question in time and I just shook my head when she asked if I was using the calculator!! Damn heng lah! Shit....must go beg borrow steal calculator liaoz...muhaha!
Returned to hall early cos I cleared the paper half an hour earlier! (Man...tt wld never never happen in NUS sia....) Was very excited to receive a card from Yaying, right after my exams too
Wow! Thanks Yaying! Liked the self-made card. Were you by any chance drawing ME in the card? Hahaha....OK loh....I am the ugly one loh......sobz sobz sobz.....:p
1 paper down, 2 more to go,but it's off to Amsterdam first!!
1 paper down, 2 more to go,but it's off to Amsterdam first!!
Last Supper
Tonight was the last night when all 10 of us Singaporeans in Loughborough came together for a final supper in our common kitchen. After this, we would be busy with our exams, our own individual travel plans, before our eventual return. Supper was our usual dessert favourite, with Ben and Jerry's ice-cream (3 tubs this time!!) It has been a long way since the beginning and my embarkment of the SEP. Felt really glad to have known so many good friends and gotten out of my comfort zone and to have shared so many wonderful memories with all of you. And as the night ended, can't help but wonder abt Ben's words abt us going our separate ways once we return, our return back to normal life and our own cliques...our waking up from our dream in Loughborough over these past few months...
Feeling sad? Kinda. Relieved that all these coming to the end soon? Mixed feelings cos dun wanna the dream to end but at the same time there are things awaiting me in S'pore too. One thing's for sure...really happy that I made the right decision to come for this SEP. Thanks ppl! For all the memories and experiences we share! To our Loughborough Perfect 10!! Cheers!
Feeling sad? Kinda. Relieved that all these coming to the end soon? Mixed feelings cos dun wanna the dream to end but at the same time there are things awaiting me in S'pore too. One thing's for sure...really happy that I made the right decision to come for this SEP. Thanks ppl! For all the memories and experiences we share! To our Loughborough Perfect 10!! Cheers!
Three's a Crowd
Ben's gf finally arrived today, right when I was totally concussed, so cld not really welcome them. Interesting to see the 3 of us now squeezed up in my very small, tiny and smelly room. But in any case, I will be moving off to Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg for my very own trip away for a week, so that leaves them with alot of space without me feeling like a very big high voltage light bulb! :p
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