Porto Bello Market, Notting Hill

Jenny, Joseph, Karen, Karina, little Kevin and I went to Porto Bello market for a short walk to see what was for sale there. It is supposed to be an antiques market so if you are interested in getting some antique stuff, you might want to check it out. Since I am not thinking of living in the UK permanently and since my company already provide everything for me in the serviced apartment... I didn't have any reason to look for stuff. I just love this little picture of Kevin. He was actually really tired already but his face just lit up when he saw the 2 cute little dogs. He was really gentle with them and touch them softly. I always thought that kids would play roughly with dogs but he was so gentle and sweet. I didn't buy much at Porto Bello but got some really huge lemons. They were massive and seedless. I think Jenny got some blueberries.

Tze's special tour of London Part 2

Oops.... I ended my last entry prematurely. Tze's London tour is definitely more extensive than just Buckingham Palace and a photo with the guard. We also went to Trafalgar Square and climbed up one of the lion things. It was quite scary. I don't usually climb stuff because I am so ladylike (ahem!). Anyways, after we took this photo, it was quite hard to get down from the lion. Had to make sure someone is down below to help break your fall. We went to the London art gallery here and we saw one of the paintings by Da Vinci. I think it was Virgin on the rocks or was it Madonna on the rocks. Anyway, it was one of the paintings mentioned in the book the Da Vinci Code. I absolutely loved that book and I can't wait for the movie next year.

One of the famous monuments in London is of course the Big Ben. We didn't actually go very close to the monument as we just wanted to take a picture. After the Big Ben, we walked around and had a look at Westminster Abbey as well. Didn't go in though. Oh... Westminster Abbey was also mentioned in the Da Vinci Code. We considered going up on the London Eye but we didn't make a booking on the internet and just couldn't be bothered to line up for tickets. Kekeke!


Greenwich... that's where the Meridian Line is. We got here pretty late and just had dinner at Tai Woon Meen (which translates to Big Bowl Noodles). We walked around and manage to see the green line. Couldn't really take a clear picture of it so I didn't want to put it up. Thanks for a great tour Tze! I would totally recommend this tour to anyone going to visit you in London.

Tze's special tour of London

Since Tze got to London, she had so many people going over to visit her. She already have her "standard tour" prepared for all first-timers to the city. I call it "Tze's special tour of London". We start off at Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guards. Apparently if the weather permits, they will do some small show when the guards changes shifts. Anyway, we got there and there were heaps of people there already. Unfortunately it started drizzling a bit and I think the British guards are too prissy so they put on their little rain coats and cancelled the show. Dang!

After that, just around the corner, there is a place where this guard stands alone and you can go and take a photo with him. Tze thought no one else knew about this guard but when we got there, he had so many other people around him taking photos. I saw him making a face in the camera of one of the girls.... hahaha!!

Christmas lights in London

Christmas bells are ringing.... I have to admit that one of my favourite holidays has to be Christmas. I don't actually celebrate Christmas but it is just so festive. Travelling down from Egham to London can take around 45 mins by train or sometimes 1.5 hours if there are engineering works going on. I think it is because I don't work right in the city and that is why I still love going down to the city and watching a musical and just looking at the night lights. I managed to catch the following musicals Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, The Far Pavillions, Blood Brothers, The Producers, Woman in White, The Lion King and probably a couple more that I can't remember now.

Bluewater

Thurrock is mainly an industrial area. Nothing much around besides my client's place. In fact, no canteen at all and if you don't have a car, you are seriously screwed! Anyway, the good thing about that place is that it is close to 2 biggest shopping centres in the UK - Lakeside and Bluewater. Lakeside is in West Thurrock and it is huge. It is a shopping centre for the everyday man. Not as posh as Bluewater. Now... that's a shopping centre that you can spend some time at. There are a lot more branded goods and also a few good restaurants here. Sometimes I just like going to Bluewater just for a walk. I don't even have to buy anything. Window shopping is such good therapy after work.

Axon UK's Christmas Do

Every year Axon UK organises a big party for Christmas. I managed to make it in 2004. It was held somewhere near Westminster and was on a Saturday, 4 December 2004. If I was back in Malaysia, I guess I would be doing all the "tai tai" stuff like getting a manicure and a pedicure, doing my hair, etc. Unfortunately, everything in the UK is so much more expensive than back home so you need to DIY. I decided I could probably make do without a manicure and since I was wearing closed toe shoes, I probably didn't need a pedicure as well. My hair.... well.... I haven't found a hairdresser over in the UK that I can entrust my hair to. Oh.... I bought my dress in Monsoon. It was 130 pounds. Yes... nearly a RM1000 dress. Argh.... but of course.... you shouldn't convert because then you won't be able to buy anything. I actually saw another dress after I bought this one and it was orange and yellow. Ohhh.... totally fell in love with it but couldn't really bring myself to fork out another 130 pounds so soon after buying the first dress. We caught the coach buses organised by Axon from Egham to the destination and started off with champagne on the bus. I can't really remember what was my starter or main meal but the one thing I can definitely remember was the dessert!! Ohhh... it was absolutely sinful. There was a plate of fruits and marshmallows for you to dip into a deliciously rich chocolate fondue. It was sooooo yummy. I missed the 2005 Christmas event in the UK though.... I hope when I head off to the US, I'll be able to attend the Christmas event in the US for 2006.

Tower Bridge

A visit to London is not complete without a trip to view the Tower Bridge! Hmm, I always thought it was called the London Bridge as per "London bridge is falling down... Falling down... Falling down... London bridge is falling down.... my fair lady".

Windsor and Eton

I first arrived in the UK on Saturday, 25th of September 2004. My first time in the UK! It was pretty exciting for me. The next day, Adrian was kind enough to take a few of us to Windsor and Eton so that we can do a bit of sight-seeing. Pity Prince William was not around to give me a personal tour.... oh well... I guess I can't have everything can I???

Renee's birthday 28 October 2004

Renee and Ken Nee made a trip to the UK and Europe in October 2004. It was really nice to have visitors from home. They stayed with Tze and her housemate Lawrence at Canary Wharf. Since Renee's birthday fell on a weekday, we only celebrated it on the Saturday. We went to La Tasca near Angel station. We had seafood paella and lots of other tapas.... really yummy....

Lobster Noodles

Once a month in the UK, we tend to make a trip down to London for lobster noodles. I have only tried the noodles at Fung Shing in Chinatown and at Mandarin Kitchen at Queensway.

I kinda prefer the lobster noodles at Fung Shing because it is less starchy. The lobsters are also nice and fresh and the meat is juicy. Yumkers!! I think lobsters are easier to eat compared to crabs because they are easier to peel or dig. Haha!

The Stonehenge

I was really excited about visiting this place. It is world famous and I have heard so many things about it. It was another big group outing but this time my good friend Tze-Ching and her house-mate Lawrence joined us for this trip.

It was raining most of the time though but it was still good fun to walk around taking stupid pictures like the ones here. Haha!

Actually, there's nothing much to this place. It is just a bunch of rocks in a field. But I guess the mystery of how the rocks got there in the first place especially during the "zaman purba" is the main appeal. I guess it gives some fuel to all the conspiracy theorist around...

Scones with clotted cream

Ohhhh... one of the best things to have in the UK is a lovely English afternoon tea with hot oven-fresh raisin scones with clotted cream and jam washed down with a pot of English Breakfast tea. The best ones I ever had was in Burford. Burford is in the Cotswold and it is a lovely little one-street town.

Just in case you make a trip there, don't forget to stop by at Huffkins Tea Room. The hot scones slathered thickly with clotted cream compounded with a think layer of strawberry jam is absolutely divine.

Oxford

One of the first road trips we did in the UK was to Oxford. Ee Leen was in the UK at that time so she joined us for the trip as well. We had a big group. Probably 3 car-load of people. Jenny was very familiar with the area so we had no problems navigating through the town. Oxford is a lovely town.

I drove one car, Jong Sim drove another and I think Joanne drove another car from Reading. It was coming towards the end of autumn and was getting quite chilly. I managed to buy a winter coat in Debenhams!! Yay!

6, The Old Coalyard, Egham.

When I was in the UK, I was travelling up and down between Egham, Surrey and Thurrock, Essex. I shared an apartment with my colleague Jenny in Egham and was only back during the weekends. Stayed in the Hilton in Dartford 4 nights a week.

I had the room upstairs while Jenny had the room downstairs. (She said she didn't want to keep walking up and down the stairs).