Saturday, May 31, 2008

I'm Yours

posted by Japheth @ 6:47 PM 1 comments

End of Term

You know it's pretty amazing how much you can do in one morning.
1)travel to HC's place to pass him stuff
2)walk to Maughan Library to return books and print essays
3)bus to Wolfson House to check out
4)bus back to Strand Campus to submit my coursework
5)Christian Bookshop for some shopping
6)Tube to Bayswater to meet Calvin for lunch
and all these before 12 noon.

But i do have to say i really enjoyed the lunch very much.

Anyway, after submitting the coursework to the department office, i searched the student pigeon holes for my previously submitted coursework to see my grades. I almost puked out blood when i saw the results. Let's just say that i do not deserve that grade for such shoddy work.

Alright, time to prepare for my Eastern Europe trip. =)

posted by Japheth @ 4:47 AM 0 comments

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Last RML *sob*

Today's last RML session at St Helen's marked the end of another chapter in my life. I really am going to miss this bunch of brothers and sisters so so much. Thank you everyone for making my stay in St Helen's such a pleasant one. =)
Bumped into Moreen (i hope i spelt her name correctly) while trying to find Calvin for a chat. It's pretty amazing to have 3 Rafflesians of the same batch in one bible study of one church in London. hahaha. Oh well, that's it for now. Will be spending the whole of tomorrow piah-ing my last essay. I guess the only thing i'm looking forward to right now is Bayswater on Friday. =)

posted by Japheth @ 8:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Cardiff

It's really great to be able to visit my friend Huw in Cardiff. Due to a rugby match on the day of arrival, i suffered a terrible jam and arrived 2 hours later than the expected time. Also, the road diversions led to the bus driver being confused and he let us off at a random place. But thankfully i did arrive safely and Huw and I went back to prepare some dinner.

His place was totally gorgeous. Waterfront living at its very best. Its just like a holiday resort haha.
Before we had dinner, we went out for a walk and to this cafe to have really great salad.

The opera house at Cardiff Bay




After walking around the area, we headed back to the apartment to have dinner. And i have to say Huw was such a great chef. Oh my gosh... Korean cuisine...

That's me, Angharrod, and Huw
Our delightful starter

A really nice sunset from the balcony

I sneaked a shot at this lady feeding the swans and ducks by the water. Hee hee... stalking paparazzi...
The hottest chili in the world... and indeed it was very hot
Thanks Huw for all the wonderful food. All of them taste as good as they seem.
Now back to my essays

posted by Japheth @ 11:18 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Ben Nevis

A little background on the thought of planning this hiking trip. -->
I did go for a Scotland tour a few weeks ago and it was brilliant. However, when the bus drove into the highlands, i had an insatiable appetite to taste the highlands for myself but i felt trapped within the glassy compartment of the noisy bus. A thought began to brew in my mind, a thought of hiking one of those munroes.

So came the plan to hike Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Scotland, as well as the whole UK.

Yixi and I set off on Wednesday night, taking a 11pm bus from London Victoria to Edinburgh bus station. Then from Edinburgh Bus station, we took another coach to Glasgow. And from Glasgow, to Fort William. All in all, it was a 12-hour butt-aching trip on the bus. We had dinner (which consisted of roast chicken and salad) by a Loch before turning in early.

Where we stayed for the night. Met some interesting people in the room. First night was these 2 Italians and 1 American chap. The second night was this friendly German guy and Irish guy who had just completed the West Highland way.
Nice blossoms outside the hostel
The next morning, we woke up early to embark on our hike up Ben Nevis. We have to walk round Cow's hill to get to Glen Nevis and then to the Visitor Centre at the foot of Ben Nevis.
The trail at Cow's Hill
We walked past this wishing stone. Legend has it that the stone will spin sometimes and during then it will grant a wish to the person witnessing the event. People nowadays run round the stone 3 times and make a wish.
Road parallel to Glen Nevis
Glen Nevis
We see some cows on the way
as well as a cemetery
We finally reached the Visitor Centre. The ranger warned us about the harsh condition of the route up to the summit and Yisi made a brilliant decision to invest in a new pair of 4-season hiking boots. After some warm-ups, we started the hike up to Ben Nevis.


It started off as a really sunny and fine day, something uncommon in the Scottish highlands. However, nearing noontime, we spotted a conglomeration of clouds at the summit and we decided to pick up speed before the clouds engulf the whole peak.
It was really refreshing to hear the rushing of water during the hike.




A nice Loch halfway up the munro


As you can see, the terrain changes drastically up Ben Nevis. It was not exactly 'nice' to trek through the big rocks and scree. One do have to be careful with his/her ankles.
But the view was just amazing.









After some time, we spotted a white patch of...SNOW. *grown* Yisi was pretty excited, I was not. Must i repeat myself again that i HATE SNOW! Trekking on a snow slope was no joking business.

Dark clouds started to gather...
Trudging through the thick snowfield



We finally reached the summit, greeted by this funny looking used-to-be observatory of some sort.


i have to say i really hated this photo. My hair was like... oh my gosh what happened!
at the edge, with the cornices behind me



ah finally, a good shot with my bad hair day covered



We had lunch on the summit. But halfway, i decided to continue on with lunch downhill. It was just too freezing cold up there. So both of us made our way down.



Ah! Say hello to Mr Jared Wong over here. Isn't he adorable?


After the hike, we treated ourselves to dinner at Morrison's Cafe before heading back to the hostel to concuss.
The next morning, we decided to do some walking just around the town centre of fort william as our legs were still pretty tired from the previous day's hike.







THen we took the long bus ride back to Glasgow and then to Edinburgh where we have to wait another few more hours to catch a coach back to London Victoria.
We went up to Carlton Hill to visit the Nelson and National Monument.




Alright, next trip coming up will be to Cardiff this weekend. =)

posted by Japheth @ 10:50 PM 0 comments

Key

Someone holds the key to my heart, but i have chosen to lock it from the inside.

posted by Japheth @ 3:52 AM 0 comments

Monday, May 19, 2008

Tribute to Jared Wong Weiming

posted by Japheth @ 1:21 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Be Right Back

Now am going to be on my way to Fort William to climb Ben Nevis. Be back on Sunday morning. =)

posted by Japheth @ 11:51 PM 0 comments

First a fly then a worm

I seriously have no idea what's wrong with me today. It seems like the insect kingdom loves me too much to leave me alone. I was in the kitchen cutting a brocolli when my knife touches a big fat luminous green caterpillar or worm almost cutting it into half. It totally spoilt my appetite and i threw the whole brocolli away. Now i have a phobia of cutting brocolli liao. Sigh...

posted by Japheth @ 3:56 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

How to Extirpate a Fly?

This morning, a disgustingly big fly came buzzing into my room. Feeling extremely irritated by its presence, i decided to extirpate it once and for all. So, i ended up spending some time chasing that fella with a... vacuum cleaner. Hahaha. It's really a very funny scene to behold and thankfully i was alone at home. I turned on the suction power and started 'shooting' the fly which seemed really clumsy in its action. So in less than 5 minutes, it was sucked into my vacuum cleaner BUAHAHAHAHA. Peace at last.

posted by Japheth @ 9:00 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 12, 2008

Highgate

People must have thought i'm crazy enough to pay 8 pounds to visit Highgate East and West Cemetery. But if you think in the way that these super old cemeteries are run by charity organisations and their funding is basically reliant on these entrance fees, you won't exactly think it too expensive then. So there, out of my innate passion for tombstones, i went down to take a look
The following tombstone belongs to the architect who designed the parliament building (Big Ben).
A guided tour of the West Cemetery
The cemetery which dates back to the early 19th century portrays Victorian gothic as well as Egyption-style architecture.
The Lion Nemo. Nope this is not a grave of a lion, but the owner of the lion. I really love the tomb. Reminds me of the Lion in Chronicles of Narnia.
A famous boxer THomas Sayers and he had 10,000 people who attended his funeral when he was buried. That's his faithful dog in front of his tomb.
I love the lady sleeping on the tomb

Then we moved on to the East Cemetery and visit the ever so famous tomb of KARL MARX!!

I do have to say that it was a beautiful sight to see flowers blooming everywhere in the cemetery.


There used to be a Highgate Vampire fiasco where paranoid people go around opening tombs to behead the corpses in them. If interested, go wikipedia haha.

posted by Japheth @ 4:59 AM 0 comments

Friday, May 09, 2008

A Run

i went for a run just now... planned destination Holland Park... actual destination Kensington Gardens. And when i turned into the Park, i seriously thought its Holland Park until i saw the big signboard Kensington Garden. Oh gosh... a few more minutes or so i will be in Hyde Park. But i do have to say it was so beautiful. aaaaaahhhh... the sun, the grass, the breeze, the pond, the birds...

That aside, i was reading someone's blog and was greatly amused at his lamentation over a bad breakfast. I mean c'mon, its only a breakfast and as a matter of fact, knowing that person always kind of wake up late, his breakfast is just an hour away from lunch. But i do have to admit its really annoying to have really horrible people stealing food from the fridge. Thankfully, my Wolfson dormmates are people with integrity and things don't disappear from my fridge. Well, i sure hope its not because i tend to put the most exotic food like pigs liver or pigs heart or guilingao aka things unknown to the ang mohs in the fridge so no one will bother to steal them. haha.

that being said... i need to clear my stuff from the fridge tomorrow

posted by Japheth @ 5:07 AM 0 comments

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Beef Stew

Cooked beef stew for lunch today. And oh my gosh, i can't believe i'm posting on food. I thought i told myself not to post anything on food anymore? Hee. But i have to say the stuff in Morrison's are really CHEAP. Brocolli can go for 30-40 pence. Oh my gosh...
Let's see what i did after lunch. Went back to my hall to collect some books. Went back to campus to collect some readings. Head down to Tower Hill and sat by Thames reading a book while enjoying the sun on my cheeks. Walked to St Helen's for my RML Bible Study... am so tired right now i could just concuss anytime soon

posted by Japheth @ 7:01 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Springtime

The weather was absolutely fabulous today. It was so full of sunshine. Went down to Mel's place to meet up with Sok and Ives for lunch. We had minced pork porridge followed by agar agar for dessert. Not wanting to 'waste' the good weather, the four of us made our way down to coin street, sat down on this patch of grass and started to play bridge. Well, some unfortunate event took place but i shan't comment anything on it.

Next was RML 8 group dinner at Sausage and Mash Cafe. Seriously i had no idea where Brushfield street was except that it ought to be around Liverpool Street Stn. Thank God for GPS and i managed to navigate my way to the cafe. I had to say the sausage was really really really yummy. I'm not exactly a big fan of sausages so if i say it is nice... then it definitely is nice. The serving's pretty small though... that's the downside.

My trip up to Ben Nevis is confirmed. Will be leaving on 14th May night and coming back on 17th May early morning. Am going to train for the highest peak in UK (note: not England but UK HAHAHAHA)

posted by Japheth @ 11:42 PM 0 comments

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Deep Scottish Love

Edinburgh is a beautiful city that oozes with historical flavour and old-world charm. I was totally captivated by its old-style architecture and the culture of the place. Jared, Colin and I spent the first day touring the place abit.



You can see Edinburgh Castle on the hill
Due to Gordon's request to take a photo of John Knox's grave, i went down to St Gile's Cathedral to try to find his grave in the carpark lots. Its only after asking one of the carpark attendants that i got to know that he is buried beneath carpark lot 23. Well, a lot of people might be infuriated at the fact that this noble man would end up underneath a carpark. However, a close look at his last will before he dies saying that he wanted to be buried no more than 20 feet away from St Gile's kind of made this 'phenomenon' acceptable.




After walking around, we decided to scale Arthur's seat, the highest point in Edinburgh city to get a bird's eye view of the place.



We took a free walking tour in the afternoon. The statue below... let me see... can't exactly recall much of its story but that its a really SAD statue.
Well, this stone heart used to be outside the building where they collect taxes from the Scottish people. And the locals express their hatred by spitting onto the heart everytime they passes by the tax building. After the building has been demolished, they left the heart on the pavement for people to spit on. So, to recognise a Scottish from a tourists, just see if they avoid the heart or step onto the heart while walking.

Which smartie put that cone on his head?
One of the oldest building in Edinburgh
The monument to commemorate the Covenanters
Edinburgh Castle on the hill

After a sumptuous buffet lunch at Jimmy Chung's Chinese Restaurant, we continued on to visit Edinburgh Castle.
The one o'clock gun. Apparently, this gun fires everyday at 1pm to tell the ships the time. So for the scottish people, they will check their watches every time they hear the gun shot. But for the tourists, they will think they are under attack hahaha.






It was an enriching experience exploring the castle. I was fascinated most by the 3 honours - the sceptre, the sword and the crown. However, the castle's grandour could not match up to that of Windsor Castle.
This photo was taken just outside Edinburgh Castle. And i would say that i'm the only one observant enough to spot this and take a photo of it. It was the burning site for the 'witches' during the Salem trials. Apparently, one could be accused of being a witch for the most obscure reasons like having a birthmark on the head, or have red hair etc. And the way they test whether or not one is a witch is to bind her arms and legs together and throw her into a lake. If she floats on the water, it shows she's a witch and she will be burnt on the stake. If she submerged into the water, it proves her innocence but she'll be drowned anyway.



After the castle trip, we decided to go up to Arthur's seat once more to catch the sunrise. Jinyang, Derek and the rest went up first while Colin, Jared and I followed after. Anyway, we came up with a name for the flowers seen below --> Banana Boat Flowers. Why do we give it such a weird name? Well, apparently these flowers (pretty abundant in the UK) smells exactly like Banana boat sunblock lotion.
Some shots of the sunset. Its pretty weird to have such clear sky to watch the sunset in Scotland. Scotland afterall is famous for its 'mist'ic scenery and gloomy skies and liquid sunshine.


A memorial for William Wallace. He died a really horrible but heroic death. Apparently his enemies stretched his body, cut open his stomach and took out his intestines playing them in front of his eyes. Next they castrated him and stuffed his privates into his mouth. He died soon after.
Stirling Castle from afar. It is a very important castle for it is the 'passageway' to the highlands.
The highland cow

Our lunch for the day.
Some beautiful landscape along the way up to the isle of skye


A monument to commemorate the commandos during the world war.

You have 2 breeds of the highland cows. The black (which is quite rare to spot) and the brown.



argh...i forgot the name of the castle

Our hostel, Saucy Mary's Lodge. Its right beside the channel between Skye and mainland.
The bridge

Don't ask me what i'm doing... just washing face



Tomb of Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie to escape to France
An unfinished tomb

Pretty funny way to die


The MacArthurs and the MacDonalds fought for this island in a 'canoeing' race from both sides. Apparently the first flesh landed on the island would be the winner. During the rowing comp, the MacArthurs were lagging behind a little, and the son of the MacArthur's chief not wanting to let down the clan, cut off his hand and threw it onto the island before the opponent crosses the finishing line. (that's a really long sentence) So since his hand is the first flesh landed on the island, the island was given to the MacArthurs. I don't understand why Scottish history always involves so much blood and gore.

This is a very interesting landform - the Kilt Rock.






We entered the clansman centre to find out more about the lifestyle of the highlanders

Poor Matt, he was coerced to strip to his undies in front of the crowd to wear the kilt.
The intense hatred towards the Campbells - seen as the traitor clan on the side of the English. Apparently the highlanders will bar all campbells into the Scottish highlands. And if they find any campbells in their territory, they will cook them into soup. Hahahha.
At Loch Ness, I wonder if you can spot the loch ness monster



The Battlefield of Culloden



Next we made our stop at the Hermitage




SOmething happened on my flight back to London. Let me put it in a very crude Singlish way:

Guy A and Guy B look at Girl C who is girlfriend of Guy C. Guy C buay song Guy A and Guy B for looking at Girl C. So they started to shout at each other. Then the air stewardess come and shut them up. But the saga haven't ended. On the bus shuttle from plane to terminal, Guy A n B n C started shouting at both ends of the bus. WHen bus stopped, Guy C dashed forward to fight Guy A n B. As i (the last one out of the bus) left the bus, i saw blood stains on the floor, apparently someone was injured in the fight. Gosh...

posted by Japheth @ 5:48 AM 0 comments