Britain February 2007

Singdate 1830-09022007


Posting from The British Airways Business Class Lounge in Changi Airport, Singapore. Ive been put on the 1030pm boarding flight to London, Heathrow Airport. BA016. I have a 99% chance of a Business Class seat and I can still used the Business class lounge. Thanks to Uncle Chris a very good friend of my Dad.

Allow me to flashback to 8am this morning. That was the time I set my alarm and got ready. Uncle Ron picked us (me and my dad) and sent us to Bangsar to catch the First Coach..erm...coach?

I realize this is a travel log...but do allow me to be a lil personal. Bren woke up at about ten to SMS me off with hugs and kisses * aww shucks .now I must do something for u for valentines..;)

Kon confirmed my DVD request...may the pillaging begin!! And Rowan..I mean the 'Your Evilness and all that is Dark and Farnie, the Dark Lord Muse' reconfirmed his evilness and address for my landing card.

We started off with a Sunny clear sky...a good sign for the start of my second solo trip of the year. Here's to Trius the Jet setter who moved...and friends...

We reached Singapore at about 5pm and the airport at about six. Enric couldn't meet up with me cause he was stuck with his WOW friends ...and the other friend eheheehehee ...


and So here i am having 3 hours *yes Bren again...* to spend in a Starbuck like lounge. See u guys in London, Ro-The Dark Lord Muse, Ikhwan, and Sze Yuin....

LonDate 0913-11022007

I'm updating my travels from the comfort of row- The DARK LORD's Crib. Heronbank, 149 University of Warwick. It is Gorgeous, left over snow and stuff...but I'll put that in the next part. Rewind to 7 am 10022007.


I met the Dark lord and he took me to Faringdon via Kings Cross St.Pancras via the Piccadilly line. When we reached Bonboncat's place aka Kelvin, he was still asleep so we had to hangout in the kitchen. But not for long, as we soon decided to go out for a lil breakfast and a gamble to spend sometime.

Ppl if u want to lose as much as 20 pounds in a matter of 15 mins, this is the only possible way to do it, with out pain or hassle. But u must be mentally prepared: This is for entertainment, I have a target of losing 20 pounds only, and that is all. Most ppl who don't start getting greedy and end up losing more than they weigh.

We headed back to the kitchen and talked of old times and I showed him my pictures of my adventures.

When BBC arose, we headed to Bay waters for lunch.


Four Season's Roast Duck seem to be the thing in London.


If u have not tried Roast Tuck, then u have not eaten in Lonton.


And indeed it was the most orgasmic roast duck ever!! Everyone I recommend this place!! though I should make a deal with the Shop to bring more customers in..i need a cut lol.

After Bays water. we decided to head to Piccadilly Circus and see the China Town there. There i was introduced to this lovely thing called the 'Tiger Roll'!


There after, we made our way to elegant Regent Street. The Valentine? mood was in Play as well*Bren u should come here one day...it'll be ur paradise


Heading back we decided to hang out at BBC's place for a while, chat and see some funny videos of 'Chaser's war on Everything'.

The Dark Lord was tired, so we decided to head back to Coventry. Which happen to be the longest journey ever.

Anecdote 1
=======


The DarkLord and I boarded the train at Faringdon Station to head 3 stations down to Baker street station, change to the Bakerloo line to Marylebone station to take another train to Leamington Spa and finally a bus to the Campus grounds.

Sounds pretty simple?

So lets head back to step one. We stated heading to the first station after Faringdon when the train suddenly stopped.

1 train passed us...and then another. And another. and then..
Announcement: Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for the delay as there have been some signaling problems inhibiting us from continuing on to our destination. When I get an update on when we can move on I shall inform u.

Another train passed, and so did time.
Announcement: Ladies and gentlemen, this is not good news. There seems to be a train in front of us that has not been given clearance to move. Once that goes forth we can make our way to the next station at a slower speed.

We were there for another 5 mins when we started making jokes about the LONDON UNDERGROUND.
Dark Lord: I see no reason why the signaling problem is taking so long.....In London Underground when they say 'couple of minutes' it really means 'indefinite time'....when they sat "slower than usual" they mean small jerks and spurts and then a long wait of complete stop", When they say "Mind the Gap, Doors closing", well have u ever heard them speaking after that?"

After much wailing and laughing and sighing, we finally got past the affected area and was well under way. We started our journey at about 6pm, and ended at his place at 9 something. Its a neat place nonetheless, but only one plug to the internet. We were freaking tired. But I knocked out first. While The Dark Lord had to complete a task before retiring.


LonDate 1033-12022007

Something I tripped over while waiting for the bus



Yesterday was a rather interesting day, I got to go to a CASTLE!! WARWICK CASTLE, home to the Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville, King maker. Warwick castle is situated north west of Leamington. And by the time we got there, it was about 1pm. We got in and just missed their explanation on weapons used at that time

Pole means head... so a Pole-axe is actually an axe design to cut off the head, not cause it has an axe at the end of the pole.

Next we saw a man dressing up a kid telling the different mechanics of each armor and each symbol.


The Castle is majestic and large.


We visited the dungeon first where time and claustrophobia was the key element of torture.

Next we entered the castle room area telling the tale of the last battle of the Earl of Warwick against the dog Edward.





3 on Lancaster's side, Oxford, Neville and Montague, and three on Edward's. However the foggy day caused Richard his life...slain in battle and paraded for all to see.

The next gallery was on a Royal Weekend Party in 1898.


This is for all you Harry Potter Fans...

And then a ghost tower which was pointless.


Then we went to walk outside the castle grounds and saw some 'rowlawns' lol...hilarious

The trebuchet is f-ing huge ..look at the size of that thing...



Made a lil joke regarding the word.."fornication under consent of the king"...now that word has been said to be used in many context...the other is where u screw up..hence.."Fatality under consent of the king"

And this is the Peacock Garden, there were eight Peacock Hedges.



And lots of real ones.


Then we did a walk along the tower.


Pretty interesting. There is also a guy who tells tales of Warwick, and knows his weapons. .."Turn, parry, Strike!"


Checkout Warwick shire...

Nerd Cafe!!! lol....Nero....burning cafe..

Interesting valentine message...



We returned to Leamington to get a bus back to the university. It was a 45 min wait so we waited around. Check what we saw...


Heading back... we meet the Darklord's Smart Mat, Ahmad for dinner at the 'Cafe Xanana' at the Campus Center. We had Carvery which was fantastically huge!!

Check out the Chocos I bought from Warwick castle ..only....30 ringgit...okay nevermind..



LonDate 12022007

Today is Sheffield day. The DarkLord and I took a blue bus to Coventry. From there I bought a 30 pound ticket to Sheffield. We took a train to Birmingham New Street International Station. And then using a train heading to New Castle, to get to Sheffield.



Reached Pika's place at 3pm, Sze yuin came after awhile and we all went to see her place. Apparently there was a Dikir Barat meeting at about 730 in the evening. So we had to plan around it. We ended up having tea at 'Witherspoon'.


I had Lamb burger...which sounds a lot like 'lam berger'. I joined Sze Yuin to see her friend's place, While the Dark Lord and Pika went to get groceries.

After some entertainment, we headed back to her place to get ready for the Dikir Barat Practice.


The practice was somewhat entertaining, even more with Rowan and Pika *wasn't looking at chicks k?* Anyway the chance came where we could run home and help make dinner.

We manage to have dinner at 10pm. Chili Cream Spaghetti was on menu and it was really worth the wait. The Dark lord's prowess to bring out the gluttony in us was complete. DL and Pika left close to midnight and i was left to fend for myself. SY was kind enuf to lend me her room for the night. I think I should stay at Pika's the following as I have a feeling she isn't that free the next day.

LonDate 0200-14022007

Happy Valentines!! My dear friends. *And Happy Vals to u my sweet... Its Valentines day where you should be out with your lover, spending time together at a restaurant, or a cafe or making out under a bridge. Unfortunately, as a Jet Setter, I have the unfortunate situation of being hundreds of miles away from mine.

So anyway, I woke up at 5 am, in the morning. Had a bad case of Jetlead. So anyway, SY came in at about 10 to get ready for class. I continued lazying around until her return to take me out...for lunch. We saw a Cathedral that seem to be an interesting building.


Then, she showed me a typical English diet for lunch.


SY then took me to finish up some of her errands which includes shopping as well. I ate a shot of chocolate!! Then, it was the Peace and winters Gardens. It was magnificent. Even seating at Cafe Nero facing the scenery itself was fantastic.


After a good long Coffee with SY's housemate, we went over to SY's other friend's place for Nintendo Wii!!


And apparently, He was a junior in my highschool!!! But lets skip tat part... NWII IS KEWL!!

Anecdote 2
==========

While busing dinner at 'Aslan Kebab', an incident occurred. Apparently, it is often that ppl claim free meals in England. This guy started eating something and then put it back on the counter and say that theres not enough meat or chips. The counter guy already knew something was wrong and refused to give a refund, said that he can't change and that he did that before. The guy threatened the counter guy saying that he is a boxer, medical student, and new to Sheffield. But he pissed off the tray master, They were about to fight when a coworker stopped then. 3 Greeks sitting down also got ready to beat the shit out of the bugger. Luckily for that that, nothing happened.

Anyway we ate at home. SY went to bake a cake at a friend's place while me and her house mates played...poker and then went to a pub waiting to escort her home which did not happen. By the time, we returned ...we were pooped.

LonDate 15022007

So What did I do for Valentines? Well I ended up spending another day at SY's. But they had 9am classes, so everyone left the house. I was left ALL alone for Valentines. So I decided to do a valentine call. Before i knew it they returned. *sigh*... So having about slightly more than two hours to spare, SY, Pika, Jack and I went for lunch at Witherspoon. This time i chose the fish and chips.

After all that, I bid my hosts farewell and it was off to London!! I took the 1253 BorneMouth down to Leamington Spa, and then the 1500 Marylebone to London. I Reached BBC's place at about 6pm. We decided to try our luck to watch a play or a musical. Unfortunately, it was Valentines and every ticket was sold out...well except for Mamamia which I had already seen.

So we ventured about and then it hit us!! AVENUE Q!!! *GASP* The Super Puppet Adult Comedy Musical!!! I LOVE AVENUE Q!! U know why?

(8) Coz....it sucks to be me, it sucks to be me,
its sucks to be single, desperate, lonely when your twenty three,
when my other half is not here right beside of me, (on vals)
it sucks to be me. (8)

Either way it was at 8pm and we had two stool tickets that were not together but that's fine, at least we had a musical to go to! so With about 90mins to spare, we lined up for a Japanese restaurant called 'Misato' they served good Curry Tori Katsudon!! And a Huge Plate as well!! We met his Indonesian friend, Adi who was getting a seat for his girlfriend. Aw how incredibly sweet. But he is a cool guy!


Avenue Q went on for about 2 hours of Nonstop Funniness. Did u know that Purpose, can be changed to Prupose and then Propose!. Come and mitment is Commitment. And if u shoot down 4 out of 5 standing knights, u get a 1 knight stand.


It was really good. Anyway, I was super pooped and dozed off at 1. Woke up at 5 in the morning. Got myself ready and left BBC's place at 545. I reached the Airport at 7am. Checked in and OMG I forgot to give the Emperor's Chicken spices to Rowan... ah dammit. Oh I mean the DArk Lord.

Oh well. I checked my bag into a 767 BA203 to Detroit at gate 1C and met my parents inside. Strapping in my sleeper seat, marked the end of my England Trip February 2007 and the beginning of my two week US Training.

What did i learn from this trip?

Well, seeing my high school friends again in semester sure jogged up alot of memories. To see them in the spunk of their youth, tied to education commitments, and wonder what's in store for them, ambitions, sophisticallity, I come to realize how simple minded I have been. Without a mind for politics, without a knowhow of empathy, consideration and equity on things.

Nevertheless they are simple and humble people as well, which is what I like about them. London is filled with culture and traditions that though prominent, they are not commercially overboard.

The Castles are kept with well regards, keeping their majestic aura to enchant the visitors. I'd love to see more! I'd love to see more of the cities, the castles, the countryside, the people, the art, the traditions, the histories, and most of all, friends who have grown to attune to these customs.

From Trius Travels, Im Justin Goodnight...

Last installment of pictures coming soon...