ohhhh london
london.
for the first time i felt really comfortable in london. even though it was raining cats and dogs and i had to walk from kings cross to oxford street because i was afraid of the hoards of people at the tube station. i met the most friendly students ever and had a really enjoyable evening, meeting with esteemed medical figures..and just meeting tonnes of new people. the free food and wine didnt hurt either.
hauled ass over to my hotel room with a drippy ceiling and ventured out into bayswater for its famed duck rice. i met a beautiful spanish man who asked if i had a nice day, even though i was cold and wet and lugging a cheap looking plastic bag that contained my roast duck. he was probably lonely. and yes, lonely in that sense. but i had C on my phone so i could not share his sentiments.
snuggled under the itchy duvet while shoving a “jumbo chocolate croissant” from tesco’s into my mouth, while watching bad british tv. concussed halfway with the telly still on.
i woke up to a beautifully sunny morning and tucked into my huge mound of toast for breakfast. my virgin experience dining alone in a public place. in true travelling buddy style i snucked two boxes of jam into my jeans pocket before checking out and heading out into the deceptively cool weather.
with the gps on my phone, i walked for what seemed like an eternity, though eternity in this instance, is a good thing. i reached oxford street and bummed around primark, picking up a warm cardi for the winter that’s imminent. everyone in london is so friendly! shopkeepers stop their unstacking of chairs to say good morning, a bus driver stopped at the side of the road and asked me if i needed help as i looked lost. i trudged around oxford circus, literally getting confused because every corner i turned to, there were the usual h&m, topshops around and I almost thought i was walking in a circle.
london is so cosmopolitan! every street i walk i see a mixture of asians, italians with that alluring accent, french in their ever immaculate and fashionable clothes, spanish and their dark eyes, oh and the english of course. i even passed sicilian avenue! and took in the scent of the rows of restaurants offering pasta dishes, pizza. some mexican ones. and a few asian/malaysian/singaporean cafes.
passed through a little street where i spotted yet another crumpler shop. its so singaporean! and very C. :) took a picture for him while trying to look as casual cool and less touristy as possible.
C once told me, it’s usually the company that makes a place feel homey. however i felt right at home, walking around, even though i had not met anybody i knew in london yet.
and yes, perhaps i was suffering from the “grass is greener” syndrome.
after 2 and a half hours of walking (yes eternity to me is as short as that), i saw a familiar figure AUDREY! waiting for me at kings cross. my solo sojourn took slightly longer than usual so i was late in meeting her. we had not seen each other in 4 years! and she sounded so different on the phone! :) we went to a cool cafe at st pancras (which reminded me sooo much of KL for some reason) and had coffee/tea while chatting over school, life, and basically catching up. though we had only about 45 minutes really. TOO SHORT! i never realised how much i missed audrey until i actually saw her. time and distance do really mellow things out a lot.
then it was time for me to go..after a picture of course. auds actually brought her camera! :):)
and it was the long ride back to edinburgh. and to be honest, everything felt so mundane and dull..it still feels that way. but im glad to be back as well. ohhh contradiction.
then again, perhaps what C said was right also. that the company here i’ve got in edinburgh makes me realise that this is still home for me, at least for now.
i’m happy though, for an impending good week ahead. monday night out, a midweek skive out in London yet again, and the week to end with jap food. lucky me. :)
oh ireland…
after a whirlwind trip to belfast and back in 2 days, we’re back!
ohhh tempus fugit.
just yesterday, while half revising for my gen surg exam, i was thinking to myself, i have so much to be happy about these days. branching out and making new friends, having a lot of trips to look forward to, and getting closer to existing friends.
today, after having completed my exam, having submitted my job application..i suddenly feel at a complete loss. i’m not sure why either. but we’ll explore that later.
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