Bonfire Night

went for the Guy Hawkes Bonfire Night celebration at Battersea Park. didn't what was it about, except for the fireworks. paid 6 pound for entry but it's totally worth it. best firework display ever. imagine that they have it here in london for a few days in different locations and still manage to display such magnificent fireworks. it's long enough and synchronised with the song played.







pictures in facebook.


P.S. weather super cold at night. hands freezing after even after wearing gloves

P.S.S. first nosebleed now rashes?

Fresher's Flu

i'm feeling better i think. at least my nose didn't bleed today. i really hate being sick. two or three days ago, i couldn't even sit through half of the lecture. and my nose bled especially indoor. probably due to the warmth or many reasons as suggested by the doctor/nurse. i missed the private hospital in Malaysia where i can just go to the Emergency and they will all treat me rather nicely, mainly because they charge a lot. i can't compare free NHS service with that.

i'm really trying to be healthy. i didn't take chocolate at all these few days(what an achievement to me) or ice cream or crisps. and i actually took the trouble to cut fruits(for the first time) and make honey. i even bought biscuits(new addiction! biscuits are actually very nice and rather affordable too and must be healthy compared to the other food in my room). anyway, thank you guys for your concern and help.

it's weekend! i need more rest

Update

ahem i have at last caught the fresher's flu. well, it's nothing serious just mainly sore throat. i can hear people coughing  everywhere, during lecture and everything. it was nothing until just now i kind of lost my voice. must be because of the acting audition, too long script. don't know why i actually did that, there goes my shopping plan.

bought some Ben and Jerry's again. only 4 for myself. waiting for the Haagen Dazs sale. no money gotta use credit card(my savior). freezer full of ice cream!

Subway and Ben's cookie for lunch. contented. cooked my first ever instant noodle too for dinner, it's good


P.S. 'Two Is Better Than One' by Boys like Girls and Taylor Swift is nice

P.S.S. got stuck when doing maths, at last

Daylight Saving Time

on Sunday we were back on British standard time without the daylight saving time(something which i still don't understand other that i sort of gain extra hour of sleep which i wasted). so it's now 8 hours difference with Malaysian time. one thing about this adjustment though, daytime is very short out of sudden. at a little over 5pm(which is pass 6 before adjustment), it's already dark. at 6pm, i already felt like it's 8 or 9 at night. i want my day! sign of winter approaching?

i love the autumn weather here. it's just nice, perfect though it seems to be getting colder nowadays. it'll be nice to have this temperature all year i think. slightly warmer would be better though, save electricity on heater.

Princes Gardens

leaves everywhere

Round Pond

i love this part of hyde park, the round pond. has that beach kind of feel to it, probably due to the chairs around and that the water is kind of blue. i'm joining yi ying's enthusiasm finally. nice place to hang out during the day, bring a book perhaps(not academic stuff please). i'm just so excited about this place

P.S. i must cut down on my expenses. no more chocolate unless it's just TOOO cheap. my desk is full of everything. should i start packing my lunch too sometimes? i feel that i have spent too much. spending like a londoner only. must start saving up for boxing day sale.

P.S.S. it's weekend!! again. i have been here for more than 3 weeks wow

Bruges

classes on Friday are just horrible. 3 hours of maths and then 3 hours of lab. maths lectures are so boring. can't they stop teaching some stuff  i learnt 4 or 5 years ago. the majority of us took further maths in A level even. other courses has started on complex number and stuff like that, envy that. our department has one of the highest requirements, so why can't they teach some complex maths instead. lab is much worse for electronics, i don't know how to use that proto board at all, the old manual way is better i think. i just don't know about connecting wires! the 3 hours of lagging behind felt like forever. this really make me consider changing course seriously, perhaps theoretical physics? or just switch to maths, if my sponsor permits. i just hope everything will turn out okay, that i will be better at lab works, and i won't feel so blurred when they mention stuff about astrophysics and whatever else.

went to Bruges, Belgium yesterday. gathered at the common room at 5 in the morning. ride on a double decker coach to Dover then took a ferry to Calais. the ferry is huge. can fit in so many buses, but it's kind of shaky, makes us wanna puke. from Calais, sat on the bus again for an hour before we reached Bruges. Belgium has really nice countryside. the moment we got down from the bus, it rained suddenly and then stopped in sudden.

we had 4 hours on our own in Bruges. first, changed our traveller's cheque to Euro. was charged 4% commission for that. 8 euro gone. who's the one telling us traveller's cheque can be used anywhere, only the bureau de change accepts it, at a rate. but i think it's cheaper to change here than to do it in London anyway. Euro is so expensive now. and at Belgium, everything is so expensive, especially the food. London is not that expensive a city to live in now i think. we walked around in several groups since we lost each other. Bruges is a small but beautiful town. they have really nice building, many cathedrals, and kind of have a feel of Venice. took some pictures but hardly know what those are.

bought some chocolates together with this almond biscuit which i loved so much. very expensive i think. would rather spend on Godiva but couldn't find the shop, only Neuhaus and Leonidas.

from the ferry

i think this is cute somehow

nice houses

welcome to Bruges!

St. Salvator Cathedral

Belfry

The Provinciaal Hof.

Haagen Dazs belgian waffle dream

City Hall

this witch kind of scared me. from a distance, and the wind made it as though she's moving

second waffle

Grocery Shopping

i love grocery shopping! i used to hate it in Malaysia. but here, i always stop by Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose or Sainsbury and scan through for anything i feel like buying(i don't like Sainsbury so much though, not tempting enough but all big expenses come from there, carrying heavy stuff to my hall for 20 minutes). at first, i just buy anything i like, without looking at the price(unless it's more than 2 pounds). but now after realising i bought some stuff too expensive, i tell myself to look only at the offer/price cut items unless it's completely necessary. i see something really nice and even if i don't exactly need it for the time being, i'll buy and of course now i have learned to look at the expiry date especially on food i'm not going to eat soon. i have now lots of crisps(really nice though kind of expensive if you convert which i don't, cuz it'll still be more expensive in Malaysia considering it's made in UK), chocolates and snacks. all the food on display looks so nice and yummy that it tempts me.

i have to carry heavy bags of grocery back to my hall though. Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury are all within walkign distance. of course my walking distance now can mean 20 minutes or so. even Oxford Street is within walking distance, it probably take at least 40-50 minutes and i have tried that. the nearest Godiva is just 15 minutes away! should probably go one day and check out. but seriously, i don't eat much here and i walk a lot. i don't even eat much snacks and i buy a lot. i probably won't get fatter yet as of now. some of the things here are cheaper than in Malaysia, like certain chocolates, ice cream, fresh milk, L'Oreal shampoo(two 400ml for only 4 pounds when it's on sale).. other things are not that expensive when you think a single meal can costs few pounds at least.

i cooked my meal by myself for the first time in UK just now. helping out with friends doesn't count, neither does microwave food. i made potato omelette with cheese and boiled potatoes with cheese just now. i don't have more ingredient but it tastes good and healthy too(no flavouring or anything, even the oil i used is sunflower and olive). the whole process took almost 2 hours(preparing and eating everything). i wasn't hungry anyway(Starbucks coffee is filing!). it's lucky that i like food that is easy to cook or can be eaten raw. washed some lettuce and grapes too. no dressing or anything, i like it the way it is. and it's quite cheap to prepare own meal.

part of my lunch(easiest to prepare and nice)

i think i like UK food(i don't mean the sandwich they sell). the raw vege, fruits, pasta, and whatever else suits me. not to forget fresh milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream. perhaps i should get some dessert later(two 500ml of Ben  and Jerry's ice cream for only 4 pounds!! i saw somewhere one can cost 4.59). ice cream is so cheap here(when it's on sale), bye bye to Baskin Robbins queue in Malaysia!

P.S. look forward to the trip to Bruges, Belgium this Saturday. the heaven of chocolates!!

P.S.S. going to start learning French too!

London Pictures

Mara House

Hyde Park

speke monument

physical energy statue

Royal Albert Hall

Albert Memorial

Blackett Laboratory(or Physics Department)

Royal School of Mines

Hyde Park again(or Kensington Gardens, can't tell which)

Peter Pan statue

Thames River at Night

Big Ben

London Eye

Imperial College London

Level 8, Blackett Laboratory overlooking Royal Albert Hall

London

i have been in london for a little over a week and i have been to Chinatown four times, Oxford Street and Regent Street twice. sounds like i've done lots of shopping, but not really, i haven't get any hanger or water filter yet(so i have no water to drink). went to Natural History Museam today with Kayla and Sharon. we were there for a while but i don't think we even visited a quarter of the museam. we have 4 years to visit the 3 museams which are just walking distance from the college(Natural History Museam, Science Museam and Victoria & Albert Museam). admission is free and the museams are very interesting and huge.

dropped by at Trafalgar Square too while we were searching for Regent Street. it's nice with two museams around(National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery). Big Ben is nearby but i haven't got a glimpse yet. caught a glimpse and kind of passed by Buckingham Palace and London Eye sometime this week. Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park are just in front of the college. our college is located at a rather nice part of London, very artistic and cultural kind. so far, London is not like a big city to me, not with tall skycrappers, just nice English house.

this week was mainly some introductory talks. classes start next week with seminars, labs, tutorials, lectures and stuffs. i actually have 6 hours of lab a week! and have to keep a lab book. this is getting serious, very professional physicist kind, unlike me. first term has lots of math which is very cool. i hope i'll like it and the physics after that. i hope i have not chosen a wrong course.

i don't really feel like i'm at London, at Imperial College and studying Physics. the poeple here are fine though some accents are hard to understand and the place is nice too. no culture shock yet. there's many Malaysians here and Asian Chinese but some of them don't really mingle with people outside their country


P.S. i can't believe UCL actually beat Imperial and Oxford this year. everyone knows Imperial and Oxford are better anyway. everything here is so high-tech. ID card is the key to every building we are allowed access to and are used to swipe for student discounts at college cafe. library is open 24 hours too.

P.S.S. i miss my piano, really.. royal college of music opposite is so tempting.. why my hall doesn't have a piano? i feel like i'm paying a lot for this, my room is like much smaller than others.

pictures up next time, damn tired...

Beginning

it's already my fifth day in London. the part of London I've been to is not very city like, not those all tall buildings though it's central London. the houses here are mainly all white or red brick(like my hall). they are quite nice but when you see it everywhere for a few days, it can be confusing as they all look the same, i walk to college from my hall several times and yet I'm not sure about the route. it's not like Pembridge or Wilson when you can just find a way to Hyde park and it's pretty clear how to resume from there. finally this morning i forced myself to learn up the way.

last 4 days were full of walking. walking for hours and hours everyday, my legs are so sore. we walked to a few of the other halls, our hall seemed to be the hardest to find. went to Oxford Street on the weekends. was at Chinatown on Friday night and Sunday afternoon too. bought my duvet and stuff at Primark and later heard that the quality is really bad. okay, if this spoils, I'm getting myself an expensive one. seriously the stuff at Primark is damn cheap, cheaper than China even(the okay quality one), probably that explains for the quality. the crowd at weekend is huge, there's long queues everywhere, Primark especially. Oxford Street is nice, they have all the nice shops. their Zara, Topshop are huge!(few storeys and not just one shop either). Chinatown gave me the feeling of being at China, some shops sells some really nice stuff that i couldn't find at Malaysia i.e. one Japanese snack and the mooncakes from Hong Kong(durian flavour is super nice!).

on the first two days, we stayed at Mara House, so we are quite familiar with Sussex Garden and Paddington area. walked through Hyde Park several times, it's beautiful and very very huge. the birds, ducks, squirrels and dogs seem so well fed, fat and not scared of human, and seem to behave well too.

food at London(breakfast or lunch) is pretty much same routine, sandwich and jacket potato. their portion is huge. the jacket potato is many times the size of whipped potato in Malaysia. i can buy a baguette and have it for both breakfast and lunch. the price is expensive but the portion is big too.

we had dinner just now with a big bunch of Malaysian and some Asian students as well. many people brought their own cooking. the guys can cook well, while i don't even dare to start cooking yet.

Saturday night went for a boat cruise party at Thames River. besides the buffet dinner, it's just drinking and dancing. so i didn't get much sightseeing on the boat, no i don't drink. Sunday after our free formal dinner, we had ticket for the Mingle. was rushing to the dinner after the day but was late having difficulties getting in. after that went to change and went for the mingle late at night. I'm proud at myself, wearing a dress with just a shawl and knee length stockings walking through London at night. no it wasn't that cold and yeah I'm safe alright