It's a Camden Day!!

I had my bank appointment at 10am at HSBC Baker Street today. Managed to open the necessary bank accounts......Ken Dove, the guy who opened my account. Sshhh... he doesn't know that I snapped this photo... Florence, you better thank me ok.... I risked my life to snap this specially for you... So how? Better than Eugene or not?

After that, I decided to explore Camden Town. I visited the Camden Market, the Inverness Market and the Staples Market. The Camden Market is the best because it is like the Thailand Chatuchack Market. Just that the price is 5 times higher, temperature is 20 degrees lower, and they dun say "199 baht.... no discount, wholesale price". :( Nonetheless, i managed to get 2 sweaters, one cost 8 Pounds and the other 15 Pounds. Cool... I got some vegetables, cranberries and strawberries from the Inverness Market as well.

Other than shopping, I walked around to do some sightseeing of Camden Town. These shots were taken at Camden Lock.

My first home cook meal in London

After my registration with the NHS , i decided to take a stroll down to King's Cross to shop for groceries at Tesco. The Tesco there is much bigger than the one near my place.

This is what i had for dinner.... looks simple but cheaper than eating out...



Dinner: Potato and tomato soup, Brown sauce chicken wings, Sweet and sour pork, Celery with seafood, Plain white rice.

Presents oh presents...

I received 3 of my shipments today... so happy... like pre-birthday presents... packing the things in is such a hassle but taking it out is great fun..... especially when you know that the things in the package are things that you cannot survive without...

Tada...

I called this the Lansdowne Terrace Ma Ma Shop......

A day trip to the Town of Warwick, England (9 Sep 07)

The town of Warwick was founded on the banks of the River Avon in 914 AD by Ethelfleda, sister of Edward the Elder, as a defence against the Danish invaders, on a site overlooking earlier riverside settlements. It is built on a small hill which controlled not only the river valley but also the river crossing on the road to London and the roads to Stratford, Coventry and the salt way to Droitwich. The Anglo-Saxon town was surrounded partly by a wall and partly by a ditch.
The medieval core of the town was prevented from expansion by the open spaces that surround it: the Common and Racecourse, the grounds of the Priory, St Nicholas Meadow, the River Avon, and later, Warwick Castle. Within a relatively small area there are many buildings of historic interest, of which the Castle is the most important.

Warwick is the historic county town of Warwickshire in England and has a population of 25,434 (2001 census). The town lies upon the River Avon and is located 18 km (11 miles) south of Coventry and 4 km (2.5 miles) west of Leamington Spa

The town is famous for Warwick Castle, the construction of which began in 1068. Spent 15 pounds on train tix from London Marylebone to Warwick Station. Spent 17.75 Pounds for entrance fee which includes Ghost Alive. We had Fish n Chips for lunch @ 5.95 Pounds per set.

Left Wariwck at 6.23 pm.

Here are some pictures of Wariwck Castle.

London Business School MIF BBQ

The best email that I've ever received (I still remember it was from Gin's PDA and i got it after Yoga Class):

Dear Mei Zhen

I am very pleased to be able to tell you that the Admissions Committee at its meeting today decided to offer you a place on the full-time Masters in Finance programme commencing in early September 2007 - congratulations!

I very much hope that you will accept our offer. I have sent you a formal offer letter which will include further information about the course and the School. The deadline for your decision on our offer will be 24 April 2007.

The email brought me to where I am right now. :)

**********************London Business School************************

This is Baker Street tube station - the station nearest to my school....
This is LBS's library - it is located opposite LBS.

I went to school to attend the MIF BBQ gathering. I had a great time there. I stayed throughout the whole session and i met many people with very diverse background :) I like my classmates a lot. Cheers...

Afterthe event, i took a bus down to Oxford Street to do some shopping. Poor mummy, din know she is waiting for me to go online - No wonder i felt uneasy when i was shopping yesterday. Hee...

This is Oxford Street....


This is wad i have for dinner... yummy and cheap... 1.50 Pounds.... :)

My new home for the next 10 mths

International Hall - Russell Square, Lansdowne Terrace Checked into my hostel after 2pm.... This is what I get for paying 800 pounds a month..=> This is my double bed.
=> This is my mini kitchen=> This is my toilet

Look at the inside of the kettle...I have tried to soak it with vinegar to remove the rust but it couldn't work... worse thing is my whole room smells of vinegar..

This is the view from my room...not fantastic but at least away from the noisy streets...

First time London - Memorable in the wrong way

Arrival date - 5th Sept 2007, 5.50am

I was asked to go the the health custom office to do a chest x-ray. The custom officer was quite hostile and asked a few questions regarding my visit to the UK.

After chest x-ray, i proceeded to belt 6 to collect my luggage. I waited and waited, the carousel belt was empty but my luggage never appeared. I walked to the baggage claim counter and told them that my luaggage was not there. Then the officer asked me to go to belt 9 to check it out as SQ last minute changed the belt. I went and waited again, no sign of my lugguage. I walked back to the officer and told him about it. I filed a baggage lost report.

I was without my baggage early in the morning. Could only check into the hostel after 2pm. Found cafe near my hostel and bought a cup of coffee in order to hook onto their wireless network. Emailed almost everyone in Singapore, shouted for help. I was so lost then.

Then late in the evening, i saw this email:

Hi Mei Zhen

Someone from Warminster School called me to say that one of their students has got your suitcase by mistake! They are also hoping that you may have theirs. Can you call the following person as soon as possible to discuss : Mrs Cottam (she is the lady who called to tell us about the suitcase)House mistressWarminster School

I have been informed by Mrs Cottam that the person who took your suitcase by mistake will be returning it early tomorrow morning (Thursday 6 September) to the Cathay Pacific check-in desk in Zone B, Terminal 3, Heathrow Airport. Please go to the above location at Heathrow and tell them you have come to collect your lost luggage which has been returned to them by another passenger who had taken it by mistake.

I was jumping with joy when i saw this message; like strike 4D or Toto. It was about 12am (London time then). I slept for a few hours and then woke up to get ready to go to the airport to collect. I spent 4 hours (including traveling time) at the airport but did not manage to get my luggage. Dun ask me why... ask the bunch of inefficient brits. I was fuming mad... wasted time, wasted money, wasted effort...

To cut the long story short, i finally managed to get my luggage but it was no longer in the original condition. The lock was broken with a foldable trolley missing. I am in the process of typing a complaint letter to SIA to ask for compensation. Wish me good luck!!