Amazing Easter

Hello, I know it's been a month since I updated. I have been busy traveling around and writing essays. So here goes..

I've now just passed the midway point of my exchange adventure. Unlike the 1 week mid term break we have in Singapore, the British system gives us 2 weeks off for Easter! (btw..I hear that Daniel had a month off!) So whilst most of my other friends flew out to explore Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam, I decided to do a comprehensive tour of the UK.

Naturally, my first stop was Liverpool, where I caught my first ever Premiership game at Anfield - Liverpool vs Sunderland - with Raja, Andy & his son Tim. Being a matchday Saturday, the atmosphere was much different compared to the Thurs night Unirea game. It had a family-outing, carnival-like atmosphere. The stadium was packed to the full, which probably explains why we were unable to obtain Kop tickets this time round. How I managed to get tickets in the first place was quite a miracle to be thankful for in the first place. They were sold out on the Liverpool website within 10 minutes! We were seated directly behind Pepe Reina's goal & had the sun in our eyes throughout the game. Well, of course Pool won, 3-0 the final score with Torres scoring a beauty in the 5th minute. Raja & I went nuts celebrating (see FB video).

Raja & I then joined Desmond in Ireland for a homestay with a nice Irish family. Their daughter is a phD student named Ellen, Desmond's flatmate who's writing her thesis in Bath. They live in a cosy cottage in Sligo, a little town by the coast in the northern part of Ireland. We saw snow capped mountains, a waterfall, and lots and lots of sheep.

Silas came to visit on 1st April. While Desmond & Raja proceeded to Dublin, I went back to London to pick him up from Heathrow. Was really delighted to meet him, as he restocked my supply of Bak Kut Teh and Chicken Rice. From there we spent a couple of nights at the Berrys and had a really wonderful time exploring London, covering all the major tourist sites like Buckingham palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral and Trafalgar Square.

There are so many things to write about our subsequent excursion, it would probably take me days if i wrote it in detail. A picture speaks a thousand words anyway, so I'll upload the backlog of photos in due course :) In summary, we toured historical York, went for Easter Sunday service in the grand York Minster, climbed up to the castle to view the Scarborough seaside, ventured through fairy tale land in mystical Edinburgh, wandered into Callander village where Silas experienced his first snow, scaled the mountains and trekked 24 km in the scenic Lake District, had a swinging good time at Go Ape Grisedale, before finally spending a day of rest back in beautiful Bath. Not bad for a self-catering, budget backpackers holiday huh. Had we signed up for a tour package at the NATAS fair, we would have spent 3 times more money!

There are so many things to thank God for. Silas literally brought the sun to Britain. Since the 3rd of April, it has only rained for ONE day, which is amazing by UK's standards. God sustained the weather, our health and safety throughout the trip, providing us with good lodging and company. Everytime I'm with Silas, we 'just whack' when it comes to food. Haha, Silas probably put on 3 extra kilos during the trip. My appetite hasn't been the same since, which is probably not a bad thing considering I haven't been exercising as much since I've come here. (The 24km route march is our saving grace really!) God's manifest presence and beauty was revealed through his creation. From the mountain to the valley, from the city to the countryside, from the waterfall to the sea, from the snow and blistering rain to the sunshine, we experienced it all. To top it off, the Icelandic volcano erupted a few days after Silas left, bring all flights to a standstill.

As I write this, the airspace just re-opened, so you can imagine what it would have been like had Silas been grounded here. We'd probably have put on a couple more kilos. Haha.