London Day Two: Camden Town

Today was an extremely relaxed and casual day. I was surprised that I took more photos today than I did yesterday though! A total of 100 photos taken at Camden Town today and although time ran out for Kat to accompany me to Regents Park. I apologize in advance if I upload more photos to this blog than write any actual proper content. You’d think that having vegetarian curry for dinner would be healthy, but for some reason my skinny jeans are hugging me around the waist just a little too tight for comfort.

Help.

kat in mid-yawn

Walking throughout Camden Town, Kat and I were discussing the similarities in atmosphere between the marketplace and Harajuku. Funny enough, shops in Camden also sell cosplay! Most of the shops sold things similar in product availability and design to one another, and there were definitely more tourists around Camden Town than there were yesterday at the markets. 

Another thing I managed to do today was sit on a red double-decker bus! I compiled a huge mental list in my head of all the things I wanted to do in the UK, and on that exhaustive and extremely cultured list, one of the things to do was sit on a red double-decker bus. Apart from that, I also had fish and chips the night before R and I came to London, so that’s another thing I can cross off!

Camden Town Station

I do realize that this list is rather simplistic, but considering the intense academic year I had at university, and my desire for an extremely relaxing holiday, so far England has not disappointed me. Of course I am much more relaxed back up in Durham, but I am with different company and in a different city- there’s no fair means of comparing Durham to London, I don’t think.

I bought myself a T shirt and a necklace today, and felt immediately guilty about it afterwards. I think the intense self restraint yesterday on my part concerning the leather bag might have impaired my logic in effective decision making towards appropriate purchases…and eating habits. Nevertheless- I am enjoying my shirt, and loving the necklace! Hoping I can wear them soon, though a T shirt might not be the best idea given the decrease in temperature recently in the UK.

Overall, the trip to Camden Town was short but sweet. I’m hoping to go to Buckingham Palace tomorrow, and send out postcards to friends and family too. There might be a possibility that I’ll be having fancy afternoon tea (that costs more than my T shirt, mind you), and visiting Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park! I’m quite excited.

All my love always,

April 

London Day One: Sunday Markets

sadly; this is the only Matt Smith I've seen in all my two days in London so far...

Arriving in Kings Cross Station, I had mixed emotions. I had high hopes for London; and I was rather surprised at the sheer amount of things that were different to what I had expected.

Guaranteed, I have yet to see the major tourist attractions, (Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Houses of Parliament, London Bridge, London Eye…) so perhaps that is why I feel that the city is “different” to what I had seen in Lonely Planet guide books.

Regardless though, London is definitely a city I can envision myself doing an exchange in for the future.

on the way to London in the train ^_^

The people here are not as friendly as they were back up in Durham, but that is to be expected at any country in the world. I too noticed that while I was in Japan. The people that lived in Tokyo were far too busy with their own lives to bother with friendly conversations with strangers; whereas people that lived in Osaka tend to be more open and bubbly.

Traveling around New Zealand, you’d notice a clear difference between people that resided in Auckland, and people that resided in Wellington too.

However- the people here in London have been rather honest and kind-hearted.

Though I’ve been warned of pickpockets here in London; I’ve dropped my wallet and railcard on two occasions, and the locals have taken the time to chase me halfway down the street just so that they could return them to me.

These last two days in London have been an absolute whirlwind. I met my friend Kat from Japan, whom I haven’t seen in a year and a half. She’s studying here in London at a design college, and has offered me accommodation and food for my stay here. Her knowledge of the city and how to get around is rather impressive. Considering how I’d still get lost on occasion in Tokyo even 3 months into my stay there- I think I still have a lot to learn about the art of reading a map.

No doubt that getting around in London is definitely easier because the directions to places are written in English; but the map reading thing is a skill I need to acquire soon.

Speaking of things which I need to acquire soon…

I really need to get a part time job for next year.

Austrian chocolate!

Tufnell Park Student Hall 

I arrived in London two days ago, and after saying goodbye to R as he went to prepare for his JLPT N2 exam, Kat and I headed back to her student dorm to settle in. It was generally quite confusing for me at first, because seeing student accommodation in Durham, I had anticipated something similar for London as well. As uncultured as that expectation may be- she has her own shower and bathroom in her room, and the kitchen is pretty large considering that only six people live here. We didn’t do much the night I arrived as it was late, and traveling somehow sucked out all the energy out of me.

Brick Lane Market

very "gourmet" indeed... ;)

Yesterday we went to visit a couple of Sunday markets, and I met up with R just before he went back to Durham.  

Brick Lane Market had a large variety of foods on sale; and they were considerably more expensive than regular Sunday markets in New Zealand.

Perhaps the price of produce itself is higher in the UK? I’m not too sure. The food here in London has also been rather tasty so far. As far as stereotypes go, I’m quite pleased that food in the UK is not as “disgusting” as the media has made it out to be.

In fact; I had what would apparently be the “best tasting beigel” in all of London.

I also discovered that bagel is spelled as “beigel” here.

All in all, Brick Lane Market was an interesting experience. I didn’t buy anything apart from a bag of apples and a bagel, and though it wasn’t aesthetically laid out, the atmosphere of the hustle and bustle was somewhat nostalgic to that of Shibuya in the late afternoon.

I am starting to make awkward comparisons between the places I’ve visited in Tokyo, and places I’m visiting in London. It’s quite obnoxious of me to compare the two against each other, considering that it’s only been two full days since I’ve been here in the UK, but I can’t help but do so!
It’s rather exciting that I’ve visited two of the top most reputed cities in the world. (according to Guardian UK anyway :P)

bikes that you could rent for a day...and never return...ever...

The second market we visited, Spitalfields Market, was visibly more catered for tourists than the former. I thoroughly enjoyed the general atmosphere of the place, and it reminded me of Minato Mirai in Yokohama during Christmas time. The prices in Spitalfields Market could not rival that of Brick Lane’s (a good example being my 3 pound custard donut. Sorry Mum), but I did practice extreme self control in resisting what would be a $150NZD splurge on a leather handbag.

I do not often visit markets in New Zealand- nor have I ever taken much interest in visiting markets whilst living back in Malaysia. Nevertheless, I’m extremely fortunate to have visited, and wouldn’t mind going back solely for the purposes of tempting myself to buy that bag. I do recommend a short visit to Spitalfields Market if any of you do decide to visit London (and if it conveniently happens to be a Sunday afternoon)

After visiting the markets, Kat took me through Soho, and we visited a store called Paperchase. Despite all the Christmas decorations and cute stationary available, I am adamant that it’s a store to splurge at only if you have a spare 100 quid or so to spend on fancy scrapbook materials.

I did buy friends and families back home some lovely postcards though.
Hope you all receive it in the next week or so! 

To celebrate R’s success in actually sitting for the JLPT, we went for Japanese dinner in what would be the “dodgy” part of Soho. Throughout the day I attempted to mental map my way around London, but I think I’ll save that for a day when I’m exploring the city by myself. Somehow having a tour guide with you, you’re not as observant about what’s around you or where you are.

I definitely accustomed myself to Tokyo faster in the later half of my exchange, and I also found my bearings around Durham easier when I wandered around the market square alone.

Although R nearly missed his train back up to Durham because we were too busy eating ramen and udon, we somehow managed to get there on time. Though the map indicated that we would need a total of 30 minutes brisk walking speed to get there, combined with intense short distance running and power walking, I would say he got there in less than 15 minutes.

I admit that I gave up about 2/3 of the way, and he had to gap it alone to the station, but don’t forget that I have not been to the gym since exams started!

Somehow I miss going to the gym- it was nice to have the security of stuffing my face without my waistline suffering in consequence.

It’s already the first week of December, and though my family back home doesn’t celebrate Christmas to the extent of which people here in the UK celebrate it- I’m really looking forward to snowfall. In Durham it is about to snow really soon, and imagining how the castle and cathedral must look like amongst all that white snow!

It’s a huge pity that London itself doesn’t snow.

Taking into consideration the filth on the streets and such- maybe it’s a godsend that London does not snow. However, it would make for some beautiful postcard/desktop background worthy photos to see Central London covered in fluffy snow.

It might be challenging to upload all my photos so far considering I have no wifi at Kat’s place, but I suspect I will have easier internet access soon.

I hope you are all having a brilliant summer ahead of you- and that you are pleased with your results from last semester!

All my love always,

April 

where the light is: live in durham

someone link me a wiki how to page on unblurring photos...

I apologise for the cringe-worthy John Mayer blog title reference.
I couldn't help myself! I've listened to more John Mayer here than I have the last ten months in New Zealand, and I do not have a proper explanation as to why.
But nonetheless, its still a great album from Mr Douche Bag of the Century.

As promised, here are some pictures taken with R's DSLR camera of the Lumiere Light Festival in Durham. Last night was my second visit to the festival, and it was considerably better the second time around. Most likely because I was comforted by the fact I wasn't wrestling with my mediocre camera, and hiking between forests and hills.
I'm pleased to report there's no more jet lag, and I am now fully synced with UK standard time.

some magical structure that combined oil, water, and fire

Although most of the exhibitions were moving (therefore taking well timed photographs were a challenge) and illuminated against an unfortunately foggy backdrop, the pictures still managed to capture the night's atmosphere rather well.
Although they turned out a bit blurry because *insert hipster explanation here*, I'm still pleased with its turn out.

The via duct

This festival is reputed to be the largest light festival in the whole of UK, so I'm fortunate enough to be staying in Durham while it takes place. Apparently this festival only runs bi-annually, so coming to the UK this year has proved to be a good life decision making moment on my part as well. Despite the cold winds and desperate need for hot chocolate while trekking through town for two to three hours, the festival was worth it. A total of 75,000 visitors came to Durham according to the BBC, so it's flattering to know that I'm one of those 75,000 visitors that have had the pleasure of enjoying the artwork.

The number of people that attended the festival contributed to the atmosphere of the festival tremendously. It was truly a lovely night, and although the weather was not kind to us, the spirit of the festival and pre-Christmas buzz was something that too, got me excited about the upcoming snowy Christmas ahead. Initially I was quite puzzled by the hype about Christmas, seeing as it was only the middle of November when I arrived to the UK.

Also, celebrating Christmas was never an integral part of my childhood.
Chinese New Year was definitely a more prominent holiday, and Christmas (apart from the religious association and obligatory church visit), usually meant Boxing Day Sales.
I'm incredibly lucky to be spending Christmas in the UK this summer, and experience something that in my 18 years of life have never had the pleasure of experiencing before. Not to mention that in Japan, Christmas is hardly acknolwedged as a holiday.

the "cloisters"

inside Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral is where they shot and filmed most of Harry Potter. I've yet to fan-girl my way through the site because of all the construction work that has been going on around it, but seeing the transformation to the outside and inside of the cathedral was truly spectacular. We stood in line for a good hour or so just waiting to get inside the cathedral and see the revolving ball of fire located in the "cloisters" (note: this is about the third new English word I've learned this week to add to my vocabulary. Going to be throwing this word around when I'm back in New Zealand)

moving pictures were projected onto the cathedral

R and I, along with a couple of his friends walked around town for two and a half hours, and by the time we came back, I was seriously craving a cup of hot chocolate. 

Unfortunately here in Durham, shops close around 5pm, and the only available place that was open was Tesco Express. It's like a 7 Eleven convenient store, except it's called Tesco Express. God, I need to get a literary award for analogies already, seriously.

I have compiled a huge list of things I want to do while I'm in London next week to visit a friend I met in Japan. Along with that lists of things to do and see, I've also made a to-buy list :D
According to the adverts here on TV, I can adopt a snow leopard at the WWW shop in London. I think I might adopt three of them and ship them back to New Zealand.

a snowglobe in Market Square!

Hope you all enjoyed the photos! I'll be sure to upload them up to Facebook when the internet is more stable. I was planning to take some more post-card/desktop background worthy photos but Mother Nature doesn't want to cooperate with me today. It's raining, and I did not bring a raincoat with me from Kiwiland.
I'm enjoying emailing everyone back home, and talking to friends and family on Skype each morning. Thank you so much for keeping in touch still, even though I am currently living 12 hours away from you, a 30 hour plane ride away and several annoying transits in between.

Nothing is more terrifying than dozing off whilst waiting in transit. #firstworldproblems
Waiting for six hours in Singapore Changi Airport, I dozed off and fell asleep (on the floor), and nearly missed my flight to Heathrow.
I had to beg the boarding staff to let me on board the A380 (which is this hugiant, gorgeous plane that I had the pleasure of traveling in)
Though it was obvious they did not need much persuasion, I think they took pity on me.
Especially because I was super panicky and frantic, to the extent of even offering to pay my way on board the plane.
Logically speaking- my luggage was already on the plane, and if they did not let me on board, I highly doubt they would bother fishing our one piece of luggage out of the hundreds that were in there. So maybe they didn't need much persuasion after all.

...Yes, you may have the movie rights to that story.


All my love always,

April

where is the tardis?

I've got some news!

I'm currently spending my summer vacation in the UK. I'm here until the week before uni starts next year in February, so here's to a whole three months of fish and chips, snow, and fun 

So far my holidays have been extremely relaxing- in fact, I can't remember the last time I've felt like there truly are 24 hours in a day, and that each hour consists of 60 whole minutes.

That's an equivalent of two Modern Family episodes plus Facebook stalking time!

Life is good when you do not have to think about exams, and drawing graphs that do not look like a six year old's depiction of a kitchen. 

It's been a little over a week now since I arrived in the UK, and I've noticed a great number of things that are unfortunately not too pleasing. For one- I expected there to be a countless number of red telephone boxes, just littered everywhere. In the little "county" I'm staying in- I've only found one! I think the Brits have lost all sense of national identity...

Something that has remained rather consistent with all the stereotypes about the UK is definitely the weather. It hasn't been extremely kind- in fact, its cloudy most of the time, with no signs of blue sky. I've also discovered that the gloomy weather is considered the norm here. I can't really complain about the weather in Durham though, because whilst waiting in Heathrow Airport for my stopover to Newcastle International Airport, the fog outside was overwhelmingly disturbing. I could barely see anything outside the windows, and going outside was genuinely a challenge to breathe properly for the first hour or two.

Combined with the jetlag, change in weather, and loss of appetite and sleep, I fell sick in the first few days of my stay here in the UK. 

Amongst other uncultured observations, I've found that there isn't a Doctor Who shop conveniently located on every shopping street. To make matters even worse- I haven't yet seen any Who merchandise at all! 

The only merchandise I've seen are two posters in R's room. Which sucks to say the least, because I thought I'd dress up as a Tardis/I Love David Tennant T shirts while I was here in the UK. 

Capitalism has surely failed in these parts of the UK. 

My plans to be an embarrassing foreigner have also failed accordingly, although being the only Asian who stands around and takes pictures of fat ducks on the street might possibly be an indication that I'm a visitor. 

I'm by myself most of the time during the day, and I've found myself exploring parts of the town alone, with my hipster digital camera and backpack. Just the other day I sent a few care packages back home to Kiwiland, and wrote a dozen postcards to friends. Inevitably, I am a bit homesick because I spend so much time on my own. I do miss home, and in particular my family and friends. 

Regardless, it's quite nice taking the time out to truly reflect on the year's events. 

The marketplace itself is lovely, and so is the castle and the cathedral. The Lumiere Festival, which is the largest light festival in the UK is held in Durham this year, which I've had the pleasure of attending a few nights ago emphasized the scenery beautifully. Unfortunately my camera was inadequate in taking night time photos, but I'll possibly use R's camera to take a few tonight. 

It's also quite lovely to walk throughout the market square and talk to the locals about various things to do around Durham. Whilst shopping for my care packages I came across a lovely little sweets shop, and I spent a good hour or two chatting away to the shopkeeper about making chocolates and fudge. I learned that the key ingredients in making chocolate is good quality butter, and low heat. I was quite confused as to why good quality cocoa was not mentioned.

Although a few friends back home are quite self conscious about their waist lines, I must insist that they try some because having a sample of the chocolate fudge made me drool throughout the day.

Also- UK candies are really quite a treat! Although they looked awfully sweet and sugary, (and no doubt they really are filled with sugar), its delightful nonetheless. 

I struggled to find cute postcards to send home, so I mostly wrote letters instead. Perhaps I'm too picky about postcards though. Can't be too fussy if they only cost less than 90p for one! So whilst sitting in what seems to be the Starbucks of UK (it's called Cafe Nero? I have no idea. Thought it better to try sitting here than in Esquires or Starbucks anyhow), I had the most sinful and expensive cup of coffee to date, and wrote soppy emotional letters back home. Yes, I received many judgmental and confused looks from everyone around me as I took photos of my cup of coffee. I realise that it is just a cup of coffee, but being a tourist, I'm obligated to take photos of the rubbish bin as well. 

Things that have been confusing as of late? This: 

What does "franked" mean? I'm assuming its only going to accept mail from people with the name Frank, or people that have been associated with a rather frank person. Again, many judgmental looks from passerby's as I stood in the middle of the pathway and snapped a picture. 

Apart from being by myself, I've tagged along with R to his college formal dinner. The uni lifestyle here is vastly different to the one in Auckland Uni. Admittedly, much better too. There's a sense of community here that UoA somehow lacks. I suspect it is also because less than a quarter of the students in UoA live in dorms, and due to the sheer size of Auckland, the chances of a successful, collective turn out to any event are slim. 

It's a traditional dinner in which there are many, MANY rules to abide by. It's an excuse to drink a lot of wine, in the shortest amount of time possible only for the mere cost of 4 pounds. The headmasters/dean of the university also attend, and they physically will hand out fines to those who apparently talk too loud. Which seems rather unfair, because large quantities of alcohol will entail yelling at some point or rather. 

Not that I received a fine or anything. ;)

I also had to wear a gown. Throughout the evening, I kept referring to it as a robe, but I now know that it is not bathroom attire, but rather very formal and posh attire that is non optional to wear to these dinner things. 

I borrowed one of R's friends' gowns to wear, and it was embarrassingly long on me. Everyone here is taller than I expected- at least in New Zealand, I was average. 

Here I'm some sort of midget that takes really mediocre photographs of red phone boxes. 

The Boathouse is actually a club! Isn't it cute? 

I've been clubbing twice since my arrival to the UK. Important difference to note: clubbing here is so much more chill than in New Zealand! But I'm fairly certain it's because it's a much smaller town than Auckland. In London, there is no doubt it will be even more of a hassle to go clubbing.

My verdict? Clubbing isn't great- anywhere in the world. When I tried going clubbing in Japan with my friend, I still struggled to develop any sort of love for it.

Besides, we all know that deep down, staying at home with a good cup of hot chocolate and a movie beats putting up with pervy glances, and having drinks spilled all over you by creepy and creepier. 

All in all, Durham is a very lovely place to visit. It's filled with extremely lazy days, and combined with the weather and close proximity of chops and restaurants, the local atmosphere is comforting for someone that has continually lived in a large city most of her life. 

I would encourage any of you that plan to come to the UK to come visit for a day. The sights are breathtakingly beautiful, and the atmosphere is really quite unique.

However, I wouldn't make it a priority over London for example. Simply because you might be disappointed to find only one telephone box in the whole of Durham, whereas I'm sure London has a few thousand red telephone boxes scattered on every street corner as a marketing ploy for tourists and the like. 

Take care, have a brilliant summer. 

I'll remember to keep warm throughout mine- falling sick once was horrid enough.

Hopefully I will write at least a dozen blog entries throughout my stay here in the UK. I'm not sure if I can generate enough interesting content though.. (considering the nature of this blog entry, I'm positive most of you have given up trying to read by the second sentence in)..because I'm not here for a study exchange or anything- just visiting friends and spending time with R. 

Bleh :) 

All my love always,

April