London City

Journey back

Took pains to travel from Manchester back to London…. partly due to the long hrs of driving…. but more importantly due to the merry-go-round we took in London city. We went from the outskirts of London where we met one unhelpful shopkeeper, a few helpful but unsure train maintenance crew, and a car of ang moh ah bengs who drove off in fright when our car parked behind theirs… to finally hitting the central part of London after spotting a not so obvious road sign at the round-about… All these… without the map of London.

Cool… even when we managed to reach central London, finding accommodation (without booking) was even more of a challenge. In the process of finding the Water-bay street (main hostel area), we conveniently drove pass some of London’s main attractions like London Bridge, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster.. And mind you, the time was 3am in the morning…. kaoz…

Even managed to take a few night pics despite our lack of sleep and not having found any accommodation… I guess we were prepared to sleep in the car all night long?? A scary thought…. 5 hrs of driving and then you tell me that I’m gonna sleep in the car?!? No way lar!!

Haha…. I soon fell asleep while LC and rest topo-ed (with the help of his memory from his stay in London 2 days ago) their way to Water-bay…. By the time I woke up… I was told we had found a roof to cover our heads!! Apparently the gals + SY went from door to door along the cooooolllldddd street of Water-bay, asking the hostels one by one if they had room for 5 poor kids stranded in the middle of the night (4am). One of the hostel crew even offered his heater to the gals cos they were shivering right in front of the counter… omg… salutez to their efforts….

Anyway… the important thing was that we finally got to our accommodation… and it was a blardie gd deal I tell you…. Palace Court Hotel….. big beds, good bathrooms, and affordable price….. shiok…. So, it was pure determination and self-belief that eventually brought us to a proper place to bunk over the night…. Talk about impromptu traveling..




Sight-seeing

K… so we only had like 1 day to walk the streets of London… when dear friends like Andrew spent 4 to 5 days and still found it too short. Omg, how are we supposed to cover all the attractions in just one day?? Jialat jialat…..

So, we went on a hit-and-run tour about London…. managed to cover a few famous attractions in the fastest way possible… uncharacteristic of us since we are the nua type. But I guess when you are desperate, it leaves you with very few options.

Hello Mr Policemen!! Shot taken outside one of the souvenir shops nearby waterbay tube station

Saw this cute (and elegant of cos) little car outside our hostel...... chio beh...

Kensington Palace

In memory of the late Princess Diana.... remembered that I quite like her in the past.. =)

Buckingham Palace

Didn't manage to wake up in time to watch the change of guards... and the parade... a pity.

Big Ben/ WestMinster Abbey

I was awed at the sight of Westminster when I first stepped out of the tube station... The features of the architecture is unbelievably detailed... inhumanely grand... I'm sure matt will love it.... simply marvellous building.....

London Eye

Well, so we thought we'd take the Manchester Eye cos it was cheaper... but it turned out that we missed both. A pity cos we were running both out of time and out of cash.... haha.... sob sob... Oh no... I could almost hear hou ger saying.... " 大钱都出了，小钱算得了什么？” OMFG... yet another famous line from our very own poet..

Tower Bridge

Beautiful bridge.... the pic says it all...

London Bridge

Well.... i particularly liked the pic on the left, not because the london bridge (far end of pic) was nice, but cos the sun setting into the skyline creates a brilliantly illuminated scene.... would make a good piece of art if it were to be painted out... heh.....

And we even had time to hop by Highbury stadium..... ooooo... Arsenal homeground.... matt's fav team!! see... I'm such a nice friend, cover the fav clubs of my buddies except my own club.... knn....

Highbury

Okie dokie.... guess that's all for one day London... would like to go back there again if time and money permits... but i guess the chances are low..... currently lacking in both departments man. Din get a chance to catch any of the famous plays like "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera".... not that I'm into plays but could at least try to appreciate the beauty behind them...

Next stop:: Barcelona

Old Trafford (MatchDay)

Ask not the price of watching a premiership live match...
Ask not the club that you have been supporting all your life...

A premiership live match... is indeed smth that one could only dream of.... esp when we are still poor students trying to find our way in life.... well.. u must be thinking... chey... xz and merv also watched chelsea vs newcastle wat... no big deal....

No big deal?...... really??.......
How about a live match of Manchester United vs Arsenal?
Dream on?? think again dudes..... haha.... ur dreams are about to be fulfilled......

Showname:: Manchester United vs Arsenal

Showtime:: 1400, 9th Apr 2006

Venue:: Old Trafford

The contestants from left:: me, SY, Chris, LC

Manchester United

V.S.

Arsenal

It's damn farnie how things ended up when we got to our seats.... Chris and I sat at the north stands, amongst the thousands of Man Utd fans... quite high up as you can see from the pics. LC and SY got the East stands seats... from the look of the pics, it really looks like they got a better deal!! so near to the pitch! haha... but here comes the irony...

Chris and I rightfully sat in the midst of a sea of reds supporters.... i can imagine Chris's jubilance and excitement being right there in the stadium watching her team play... c'mon if it was Liverpool i would be jumping up and down and screaming at the top of my voice lor... but then again... if u can picture 2 chinese sitting amongst all the ang mohs... maybe its wise that i think twice?? ha....

LC and SY on the other hand.... weren't tt lucky.... as they approached the gates, the steward started calling out "Arsenal fans!! this way!! Arsenal fans!! this way!!" LC and SY could only look at each other blindly.... and end up bursting out into laughter... satirical?? HAHHAHAHHA..... What are the chances of getting Arsenal seats when there's only 3000 Arsenal seats out of the 70, 000 odd available.... damn GG...... I almost pengz when I heard their story.... must ask SY give you a re-enactment...

Pre-match warming up.... can u spot Ruud in the pic on the right??

exchanging of handshakes before kick-off.....

All the live action taking place in front of you.... look at how packed the stadium is.... the relentless chants.... constant anticipation each time rooney touches the ball... the man utd fans will go "rooo!! rooo!! rooo!! rooo!!"..... which sounds so much like "boo boo boo" to me at first... i was thinking.. wth are man utd fans doing boo-ing their own team.... ha... dumb me as usual...

There were some other chants like "Same old Arsenal.... Always cheating.....", and of cos who can miss out on the "Glory glory man united.... Glory glory man united.... *repeat*... and the the Reds go marching on on on!!!" haha.... so fun singing along.... tho i'm not man utd fan... i bet chris totally enjoyed it all...

scoreboard.... goalless still.....

giggs taking corner!!

2-0!! Rooney and Park scoring each.... i must say that Rooney really looks impressive.... strong, agile, skillful.... damn gd lar....

Man Utd making substitutions(left) celebtrating 2nd goal (right)

final whistle!! whee!!!

okie dokie... tt's all folks...

and i'm just done with manchester.... lol.... headache.... maybe shd just post pics for u all to see ya?

Next up:: London

Old Trafford (de Tour)

Manchester United

Arguably the most popular football club in the world.

Before I start, I must make this clear.... I am still an ardent Liverpool supporter despite the fact that I spend so much time at Old Trafford. I'm a true blue Reds... hmm... sounds wierd... but I just wana make my stand clear.... Just in case pple start throwing abuses at me.... esp Yoggi.... haha.... and to all my dear friends out there who are Man Utd fans... gd for you cos I've got lots to share.... mingjie, nic, xingyou, shilong, xz.... all man utd crazy ones, I'm sure this would appeal to you.... heh

Old Trafford Tour

Managed to book a tour at old trafford 2 wks before.... LC and me tried booking the anfield tour then but it was already full, so we had decided to book the old trafford one since we'll be in Manchester and Chris was a Man Utd fan. We even tried to get the Liverpool vs Bolton match but it was sold out in like 4 hrs after the sales time? Scary.... we were calling non-stop since the opening timing and by the time we got through... it was already sold out!! grhhhh.......

The ticketing booth.... luckily we booked in advanced, so no need to wait for the long queue... haha... went straight up to the man utd museum!!

First time I've ever stepped foot in a soccer club museum.... everything felt so familiar, there was a room specially for the club captain, who is now Gary Neville after Keane recently left the club. I guess this is much better than visiting the brewery museums where I'm only interested in getting to the bar at the end of the walk.... C'mon it's soccer!! It doesn't matter that it's Manchester Utd, cos I'm all too familiar with English Football having grown up watching it on TV... =)

The cabinets of trophies won by Manchester United Football Club

Then, there were the galleries of Man Utd legends.... players like Cantona, George Best, and even Mark Hughes!! Haha.. he's one of my fav Man Utd players (c'mon I don hate Man Utd that much.... esp when I always watch their matches on tv cos there are so many man utd fans amongst my buddies... so i gotta learn to like some of their players ya?)

Had abt 45 mins to walk ard the museum without getting bored.... oops except maybe for one person?? haha... then it was time for the guided tour ard the stadium....

Old Trafford Stadium

Cool isn't it?? First look at the pitch I was like.... woooowww..... this.... is Old Trafford. I mean, c'mon u don't really have to be a Man Utd fan to be in awe of the stadium.... any football fan knows how much it means to step foot into the stadium of such a famous football club rite?? Amazing.... esp when the sun shines onto the pitch.... pretty......

The guide was esp nice... and was quite suprised to hear that we are from spore... haha he thought we kee siao fly all the way here to visit Old Trafford..... c'mon... gimmi a break.... lol

LC giving me some tips on the team bench(away team)

Home team bench... one of us is definitely sitting on Alex Ferguson's seat... can u spot which one?? heh....

The Man Utd Press Conference Rm.... commonly used to introduce new signings, but since arrival of Ruud, they have moved the interviews to the dining hall beside cos it houses more pple...

The Man Utd Changing Room

KSY giving pre-match briefings and post match reviews... check out the Premier league background that you always see on premiership highlights!!

The tunnel.... isn't this familiar?

Next up:: Man Utd vs Arsenal Live in Old Trafford!!