I wanted to blog about swans again cos I went visiting them during the weekend. It’s really cool how they’re so tame and don’t run off when you walk up to them.

But I suppose people must be sick of reading about birds, so I’ll do the swan post another time.

Lulworth Castle today.

 

 

Situated in Dorset, the castle was built in 1610 as a hunting lodge, which is probably why it’s so small, as castles go.

It was ravaged by fire in 1929, losing a roof entirely, then eventually partially restored so that the roof is back and it looks pretty good from the outside. But most of the upper floors inside are gone and the walls still look a bit dodgy.

 

 

We were charged a fee of £5 (S$10) each to enter and immediately felt cheated as we saw empty, crumbly room after empty, crumbly room.

There’s a neverending spiral staircase that takes you all the way up to the roof where you can admire the scenery. But it started drizzling half a minute after we reached the top so we had to leave almost immediately.

Which was just as well. The scenery wasn’t breathtaking or anything. It was just okay. You can see the Lulworth Chapel next door.

 

 

 

It wasn’t till we went down to the basement that things got interesting. Ancient artifacts have been preserved and labelled, so that sort of made our £5 worth it. I really enjoy looking at stuff from the past.

Here is the King’s bed, offered to visiting kings when the castle was still a residence. (It’s now just a tourist attraction, of course.)

 

 

Bathroom things:

 

 

Me standing in front of a cauldron-looking thing and barrels:

 

 

Just some old things, next. Can you spot the mug with the Chinese word? Wonder where that came from!

 

 

There’s a room where the 1929 fire is commemorated. Inside are newspaper clippings, actual video footage and bits and pieces of walls and furniture salvaged from the ruins. There are even firefighter hats visitors can try on.

I don’t know why, though. Not a very a relevant activity for a visit to a historic castle, is it?

 

 

Old-fashioned washing machine, lol. You have to poke your clothes around with a stick:

 

 

 

A more advanced but still old-fashioned one:

 

 

 

This is an early washing machine. The clothes are put in the wooden tub which is turned using the handle. Wooden slats inside the tub help to tumble the clothes. James King invented the revolving drum in 1851.

 

Clothes dryer:

 

 

The mangle was used for drying clothes. It worked by squeezing the water out of the laundry as it passed through the rollers powered by the handle at the side. The mangle becomes obsolete with the invention of electric washing machines. They are still used to press linen in some homes.

 

The kitchen:

 

 

There’s also an activity room where kids can play with toys and engage in simple fun like giant jigsaw puzzles. Some old toys from the past are also displayed.

 

 

We saw this structure that looks like giant Jenga. No descriptions found around it, so I’m not sure if it’s actually an archaic toy or really just giant Jenga.

 

 

There was enough to look at in the castle but not so much you’ll go crazy. You can probably finish exploring the castle in an hour or less.

We visited the chapel next door. The castle and chapel are leased out to the public for weddings and events. So, apparently, it’s quite popular for couples to get married in the chapel then have photos and a banquet at the castle. Sounds nice!

The chapel:

 

 

 

 

Near Lulworth Castle is the quite famous Lulworth Cove, which is one of England’s own seven “natural wonders”.

My photos don’t do it justice but it’s really quite beautiful and awe-inspiring to look at it from a hilltop.

The cove is the small pool of water on the left side of the picture:

 

 

Other views from the hilltop:

 

 

 

 

We took a walk to the cove and it was quite fun hanging out there. The cove bed is made of little pebbles, which was fun to walk on cos it goes “crunch crunch crunch”.

 

 

Sorry, I didn’t take any photos at the cove except the above because my camera ran out of juice and I don’t really like taking photos with my iPhone. (It’s very annoying cos it’s touch screen.) Plus it was quite cold and windy so I preferred to keep my hands in my pocket.

Unfortunately, during winter in England, it starts getting dark from 4:30 pm onwards, so if you don’t start the day early enough, you don’t get enough time to visit places and do stuff.

We left Lulworth and headed for home around then. Would have been nice to stay longer. It really is a very peaceful, beautiful place that is sure to lift your mood.

If it isn’t raining.

Lucky I have enough time in England so I don’t care when it rains. There are enough sunny days for me to go out, and I think I might extend my stay again to enjoy even more sunny days.

=P

Piers took me to Wing Chun class on Thursday. It was so fun seeing a room full of caucasians doing an Asian martial art.

They looked really good.

 

 

When Piers announced in Plurk last year that he was going to take up Wing Chun, everyone was so excited for him and many jokes were made at his expense.

To be honest, I never expected him to last so long (eight months now) but he did, going for classes two to three times a week.

I think he’s really good, from the moves he showed me in class. (But he’s one of the more junior students, so he can get a whole lot better. Most of the others have been doing Wing Chun for years, some over a decade.)

 

 

This was at the Lun Kuen Academy of Wing Chun in Poole (which is next to Bournemouth). The founder, Stephen Lyons, is a descendent disciple of Ip Man. The lineage goes like this:

Ip Man > Ip Chun (Ip Man’s oldest son) > Samuel Kwok > Stephen Lyons

Here’s Steve demonstrating some basic moves on Piers.

 

 

Apparently, he’s very, very good, having trained in martial arts since the early 1970s, and he’s personally recognised by Grandmaster Ip Chun as a Wing Chun Master.

But what’s more impressive is that he runs the school not for profit but for passion. He only charges £5 per two-hour class and holds them three times a week. So very nice!

 

 

I was lost in class half the time. Steve would show a short, sparring sequence with one of his instructors, then the class would get into pairs and practise on each other.

Piers said he was also lost in the beginning but, after a while, maybe a month or two, it started to click and then he got it.

I can’t imagine that happening for me.

It was really fun, though. In just half an hour, I learnt the basics of how to effectively defend myself while at the same time strike at my opponent to incapacitate him.

Of course, it takes a lot of practise to get good at it so you can apply your knowledge and not get killed when someone comes charging at you for real. In class, your opponent will pause mid punch and let you respond slow-mo if you’re a bit retarded, like me.

 

 

I think I shall take up Wing Chun when I get back to Singapore. I quite enjoyed my first class and look forward to learning more.

I will probably go for more classes before returning to Singapore, but I’ll feel better when I’m in a class where no one knows me and won’t laugh at my clumsiness and incoordination.

While sparring with Piers, I laughed in embarrassment every time I did something that looked stupid, so that was very unimpressive. But he was very kind and let me chop his throat (one of the moves I learnt) over and over again.

Well, I suppose there are some benefits to having a friend in class.

When I logged in to MSN today, Chong jumped at me.

“SISTA! YOU’RE COMING HOME TOMORROW!” he typed hysterically.

(I’m not really his sister. He just likes to call me that.)

Rolling my eyes, I said, “No, I’m not. I extended my stay. I thought you read my blog!”

“Oh, I haven’t read the latest one.”

“I mentioned my extension a week ago!”

“Oh, yah. I mostly only look at the photos.”

 

* * *

 

To think I actually feel bad every time I post a photo-heavy text-light blog. I keep getting evidence that most people prefer to just look at photos.

Well, photos I have in abundance.

I’m going to share some from my first London day trip. Took a coach there in the morning and back in the night. (It was cool the first time but got tedious by my third trip. The commute totals almost five hours each time.)

 

 

I was met in London by Limin and Xi Yen.

 

 

Limin is a Singaporean studying in London. You’ve met her on my blog before.

Xi Yen is a Malaysian working in London. (Those of you in Plurk will know him as junkie.)

Anyway, they’re both very awesome and showed me around the entire day. Xi Yen works in Google London and took us on a tour around his office. It was so fun! Luckily, it was a Saturday and no one was working, so we were able to gawk freely.

But I’ll blog about that another time!

This is Xi Yen and me in Chinatown:

 

 

He was mortified when Limin made us pose there so she could take a photo of us. Where we’re standing seems to be a favourite photo spot for tourists, cos of the lanterns, I suppose.

Xi Yen was, like, “Nooooooooo….!” all the way. He said he’d die if his friends caught him doing a touristy photo, especially in Chinatown.

Let’s hope his friends chance upon my blog.

 

 

I think Chinatown shouldn’t be called Chinatown. It’s more like Asiatown. It’s a mishmash of restaurants and influences from different Asian countries and does not really reflect any specific identity. But I suppose the English wouldn’t know that!

 

 

I was brought there specifically to try a very famous roast duck which many people have told me I must eat if I were to go to London.

 

 

The restaurant is called Four Seasons and it surprised me because I never expected to find really good Asian food in England.

The roast duck was beyond good. Best of it’s kind, even. Skin as crispy as that of Peking duck, tender meat with flavourful juices, sitting in a bed of sweet-salty sauce.

The fats under the skin melt in your mouth and taste so good, almost like foie gras, but it does get too rich after a while. It was a struggle for us to finish half a duck (with two other dishes and rice).

 

 

 

I would really love to eat there again before going back to Singapore. On the other hand, there’s still so much more stuff to try out here. It’s always such a dilemma, whether to keep eating something you like or try new things all the time.

I’ve eaten a Big Mac four times here in the last three weeks, though. Well, it’s really good and very cheap. =P

 

 

Our meal of three dishes at Four Seasons costs £40 (S$83). Yikes!

But, like Limin keep saying to me, “Don’t convert!!”

I suppose everything tasted so good it was well worth it. Besides, Xi Yen paid for lunch, lol. So very nice of him!

 

 

I find London rather strange. Old Victorian buildings stand side by side modern glass buildings, making me confused as to what to think of the city.

I did see many more Victorian ones, which made me happy because they’re so pretty. But, occasionally, you’ll see a classy glass structure smack in the middle of all that antiquity and feel a funny sense of displacement.

 

 

It’s a truly beautiful city, though. Not once as we travelled through the streets did my heart stop pounding in awe.

 

 

 

 

We next went to Trafalgar Square, one of the most landed-on spots on the Monopoly board game.

The real Trafalgar Square seems as popular as the game board’s. There were so many people, tourists, Londoners hanging out, street performers and protestors. Some Egyptian protest was going on that day. Not sure what about.

And I was so lucky to have visited London on a blue skies sunny day.

Photos now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Covent Garden is about 10 minutes’ walk from Trafalgar Square, so that’s where we went next. It’s a lovely area with street performers, shops, restaurants, bars and theatres.

We stayed and watched this funny magician who did tricks while joshing the audience. He’s so good. I think I laughed the entire duration of his act, which was, like, 45 minutes or something, can’t really remember.

 

 

 

Then drinks at Punch & Judy Pub, where, if you go to the upstairs balcony, you can look down into a square where you can see, like, acrobatic street performances. I didn’t enjoy them as much as I did the magician, though.

 

 

 

 

Okay, I think that’s enough photos for today.

I had such a great day and would like to thank Limin and Xi Yen again for taking time out to show me around. So nice to have friends around the world! ;)

When I visited Hampton Court Palace last Friday, the highlight of my day was being eaten by swans.

Which was a funny surprise because I had so looked forward to visiting the place for the history.

The palace was built during the Tudor period of English royal history, which I have a keen interest in. It was a favourite residence of King Henry VIII, that famous womanising king who had six wives.

 

 

So I’ll talk about the swans first.

The palace grounds boasts a humongous garden where swans and geese and seagulls freely roam around large pools of water

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the best thing is that they’re quite tame, the swans especially!

They were mostly swimming in the water, and Piers got the brilliant idea of luring them nearer to us with grass from the lawn.

And it bloody worked!

One swam up and ate the grass right out his hands!

 

 

So then I wanted to try it, too, but I kind of put my hand out at the wrong angle and ended up getting the fleshy part of my hand eaten. The swan just bit down on it as if my hand were the offering.

It wasn’t painful or anything; their beaks aren’t sharp. It was more shocking than anything.

Fun like hell.

But I didn’t do it again because I didn’t know how healthy it was for the swans to eat lawn grass.

 

 

 

Then we walked to a part where there was no barrier between the water and us, where we might get even closer to them.

There were some Canadian geese waddling about. I tried to sneak up as close to them as possible so Piers could take a nice photo for me.

They didn’t like me standing right beside them, though, and waddled away, not in fright but more like, “Pah, another tourist. Ima go eat some grass, bye.”

 

 

So there were the swans left and I tried to creep up to them.

 

 

I squatted down next to one and turned to face Piers, who was on standby with my camera.

 

 

When I wasn’t looking, the swan suddenly reached forward and pecked me on my leg!

Startled, I kinda yelped and leapt away, and Piers missed the shot.

I decided to try again.

The swan had swum away while Piers and I were doubled over in laughter at ourselves, but they were continuously swimming up and down the bank, so they would eventually reach the spot again.

I kinda just squatted there, smiling at the camera, ready for the moment when a swan would swim up beside me.

One finally did!

 

 

And this one, possibly the very same one, reached out and bit my leg, too!

 

 

It was so hilarious, me squatting there, resisting the instinct to leap away when bitten. It wasn’t painful, really, probably because I had three layers of woollen things protecting my legs.

And Piers was brilliant, getting this shot.

The swans are really strong, though. I could feel the force of their bite. This guy then decided that I wasn’t tasty at all and swam away.

 

 

But it was really great fun. I would have stayed there to play with the birds a lot longer but it was chillingly cold that day. My hands froze and lost all feeling each time I took them out of my pockets to take a photo or something.

I would really like to go back there again.

The palace itself was, of course, amazing. Most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.

Not that I have seen many, so I guess that’s not saying much. But still.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s all! It’s a lovely place to visit if you’re into this kind of history. You’ll need about three or four hours to explore the whole place.

Just a bit hard to get to it because it’s a 45-minute train ride from central London.

But it was great. It was so cool meeting King Henry VIII. (Even if he was just an actor.)

We had accidentally encountered this 30-minute tour led by two women dressed in period costumes, gossiping about the king’s next wife while pretending that we (the tourists) were part of the court’s ladies.

 

 

So we just followed the crowd without really knowing what was going on.

The king then suddenly appeared and kind of did a monologue for, like, 15 minutes, addressing us and even occasionally asking a few questions.

Really made my day, this surprise.

And the swans.

Having much fun in England and not sleeping enough!

I’ve been spending a lot of time sightseeing and not blogging so much. That feels sort of naughty, like playing truant.

But there’s so much I want to see in England. When the weather is good, you just want to go out!

Yes, I’m being very touristy this time round, mostly because I have a good and patient tour guide who doesn’t complain when I stop in the middle of the road for the nth time just to take 20 photos of exactly the same thing.

 

 

I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life when I have actually been excited to see the sun pouring in through the window.

Like, never. Usual sun-inspired thoughts include “groan” and “aaaaah… liquefication”.

I don’t mind the grey days, though, as long as it doesn’t rain too heavily.

I guess I might not even mind the rain if I actually had a thick winter coat.

I still haven’t got a replacement after giving away my electric fleece coat last December. Haven’t been able to find something I really like.

 

 

I suppose that’s because I haven’t gone shopping much. I’ve been in England for two weeks and I’ve only spent maybe a total of four hours shopping, and half of that is for groceries, souvenirs and gifts.

I’m supposed to go home next Tuesday but then I realised with a sudden desperate dismay that that won’t give me enough time to see and do everything I want to and have time to blog.

So, I’ve extended my stay for another week!

That means I’ll be in England for exactly a month. Sounds long but it’s so, so short.

There are so many places with astounding views that I want to revisit again and again.

 

 

It’s like you have tons of new DVDs to watch but you keep watching your old favourite movies, leaving yourself no time to catch up with your ever-growing collection of new DVDs. You feel rather stupid about that but you can’t help yourself, right?

Yes, therefore, I always need more time. Always.

Have to go now. It’s 3 am and I have to be up in three hours to catch the coach to London again. Oh no, gonna be so exhausted, I think!

Vacations are really full-time jobs!