Saturday 31 May 2008

Quick trip

Finally, a chance to take a trip JUST FOR HOLIDAY!

Going to Ko Samet for the long weekend (self declared long weekend). Will be back next week with updates, recommendations and pictures! Hope the weather stays nice.

Saturday 24 May 2008

London Trip - part 2

On Monday (a bank holiday in UK) I went to the Natural History Museum.

 Natural History Museum

Where scary dinosaurs roam

Scary dinosaurs

And big mammals live

Big mammals

Also some monkey heads 

Evolution

Then had dinner in Hyde Park.

Hyde park

Then work starts on Tuesday. This is my work building.

 Eighty9

Visited a few shelters in (and around) London.

 Adopt me!

Take me home!

And to get to one of them, I had to take a train from King's Cross Station at Platform 9 3/4!

Harry potter style

Some lucky dog...

Lucky punk

yum... fish... 

Also visited the City Farm - cute concept, to show city kids farm animals.

 City Farm

9... 10... a big fat hen!

9.. 10.. a big fat hen!

Of course, they need donations for the upkeep of the farm.

Donate, my ass!

Of course a visit to London is not complete without a watching a West End show. So, I watched Wicked. And it IS wickedly good!

 

On my last day - visit to the Tate Museum and a visit to the thieves' storage facility ... oh! I meant the British Museum. 

Tate

British Museum

To visit King Tut and family

King Tut

Its like visiting Easter Island without even being there!

Easter Island

Mayan art

mayan art

ssnnnaakkeee   

And of course, had to say good bye to the London Bridge

London Bridge

Bye bye!! Till next time, London!

Oh yeah, for those who like it hot - London was warm and sunny when I was there!! Just when I was expecting cold and rainy weather! Cis...

Saturday 17 May 2008

London Trip - part 1

My trip to London was of work + fun :)

I took Etihad Airways, which mean a stop over at Abu Dhabi at an ungodly hour - about 4am (Bangkok time!). Boy was the airport security strict (at least going to London) - they had to check my Malaysian ID and return ticket. Some unlucky folks had to have their shoes scanned too!

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Abu Dhabi airport - trying to stay awake and not miss the connecting flight

Reaching London early in the morning, I didn't waste any time. Its a walking trip around London and Trafalgar square.

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Lots of pillars

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And even more statues

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Some pigeons

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Trafalgar Square 

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Fountain in Trafalgar Square

And when my colleague said that I could easily take money out of any hole in the wall in England, I didn't know she meant it literally!

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Hole in the wall

Day 2 was a trip around the Inns of Courts and the Royal Courts of Justice

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Royal Courts of Justice

Followed by lunch and some people-watching in Camden Lock/Market - one of the more unusual places to visit in London.

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Its cool seeing the water go up and down for the boats to pass through. Closing and opening the gates were still done manually - gasp!

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One of the usual shops in Camden Market

And then seeing some busker do their thing in Covent Garden

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Covent Garden

Next day we had a tour to the Cotswolds - which consists of visiting a few little towns/villages. Funny, a town or a village is defined by whether it has a church/cathedral or a market place, not by its size.

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In Bibury, beside the little trout-filled river. And of course, plenty of ducks too.

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A church in Burford

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Where there is a little graveyard

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And where we had a picnic for lunch - beside the little stream

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Another view of the churchyard - littered with gravestones

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In Bourton-on-the-Water, there's a little place where they made a miniature of the village.

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It made people 'Monster size' - think of Godzilla

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And of course, there's the miniature of the miniature. If you look closely on the upper left, there's a miniature of the miniature of the miniature.

On the way back, we had a bonus stop in Rollright to see the King Stone and the King's Men which is actually his knights which formed a stone circle. Read the myth here - very interesting.

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The circle of Knights

London trip - to be continued.