In love with Cornwall - Part 4

Sunday, the third and final day of my Cornwall trip. I woke up with my still aching thighs... and bummer it's raining. After yet another big English breakfast (they are serving exactly the same stuff as yesterday, but hey can't complain as this ain't no 5 star hotel), I load all my stuff into my car and checked out. The hotel is kind enough to let me leave my car at their carpark while I go out for another stroll along Newquay, trying to capture some photos of Newquay since I didn't actually take any on my first day here.

Yes, it's still extremely windy and with my now aching body, it makes it even harder to walk against the wind. Gosh I really need to start doing some exercise and get fit before embarking on my Euro tour later on. The weather is totally horrible this morning, gloomy, windy, and worst part... its raining. It started with short drizzles where I just hide my camera under my jacket and waited for a while until the rain subsided. Then the rain really started picking up and as the wind accelerates the speed of the raindrops, it felt like my face is being hit with tonnes of sands.

There is this house constructed on a huge lime-rock on the Great Western Beach. The house was connected to the mainland via a hanging bridge. Very cool. I hang around for a while before going off to explore some other alleys of the town. Wandered into a shop and got myself a Cornish ice cream. Pretty nice to be eating ice cream despite the cold weather.

After that I set off in my car to Cranktock. Another small town nearby. There is also a beach in Cranktock but in the end I decided to give it a past coz the car park I found in the village requires me to walk for some distance up and down a hill slope. So, I navigate myself to Boscastle, about 1 hour away. The road I took is some narrow and winding roads along the vast farmlands. Couple of times I stopped my car at the roadside to take some photos.

As I am about to reach the village in Boscastle, I was stunned by the view. The village is situated at the bottom of the valley. So as I drove down, I could see the whole village, the sea and the hills... It's amazingly beautiful. This picturesque fishing village of Boscastle in North Cornwall, with its Medieval core and distinctive harbour is one of Cornwall's most romantic places. On 16 August 2004, Boscastle suffered extensive damage after a flash flood caused by an exceptional amount of rain that fell over the course of five hours that afternoon. There were still construction works going on today to restore and rebuilt the village. There is a Witch Museum in Boscastle and it claimed to be one of the busiest and most visited museum in UK.

After an hour wandering in the village, I got myself another Cornish Pasties as my lunch before heading back to Swindon. The journey back this time was pretty smooth sailing and I reached home after 3.5hours.

This Cornish trip was absolutely stunningly beautiful and inspiring. There are still a lot more of Cornwall for me to explore and visit. I will definitely visit again and next time it won't be a short trip.

Here are the photos I've taken during my Cornwall trip. Enjoy.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/yhszee/UKCornwall2123March08?authkey=hUJ_D7cGZrc

In love with Cornwall - Part 3

The town of Padstow is an ancient, but busy fishing port with picturesque pastel colourwashed and stone cottages nestling in the narrow streets leading down to the harbour and quays. Padstow is very lovely. There are quite a lot of tourist visiting when I reached there and immediately I saw a long queue in front of a store... ahh no wonder, it's the famous Rick Stein's seafood restaurant. You can choose to dine in or take away but no matter what you choose, queue first. (http://www.rickstein.com/)

Walking towards town centre, I come to a dock with many boats... big, small, private leisure, fishing, sampan.... On the fishing boats, there were many cages which are used to catch lobster. At one of the small alley, I bought myself a half fish & chips (smaller portion more suitable for one person) and rested. They don't provide any seasonings except salt and vinegar. Tasted OK nothing super fantastic. Maybe I should have tried those from Rick Stein's. OK next time I shall give it a try.

After finishing my tour around the town and harbour, I board on a bus and head back to Newquay and called it a day. Tired but satisfying.

In love with Cornwall - Part 2

Cornwall is famous with it's Cornish pasties. It looks like a giant curry puff with various fillings inside to choose from and traditionally it is filled with diced meat, sliced potato and onion. Tradition claims that the pasty was originally made as lunch ('croust' or 'crib' in the Cornish language) for Cornish miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat. As the miners would be covered in dirt from head to foot (including some arsenic often found with tin), they could hold the pasty by the folded crust and eat the rest of the pasty without touching it, discarding the dirty pastry.

So I too bought a large traditional Cornish pasty, found a bench overlooking the ocean, and started eating. It is a pretty interesting experience as the wind is still pretty strong and cold but the pasty is piping hot. The pasty is very delicious with creame mushroom + potatos and also diced meat (like those we have in our 'bah chang'). After that I walked around a little more and return to the hotel as it's so cold and I am feeling a bit tired.

In the evening, I thought of going for a walk and watch the sunset but just as I stepped out of my hotel, it started to rain. Back to the hotel then and stayed in for the night.

On the second day, I had a full English breakfast at the hotel (egg, bacon, sausages, toast, coffee). With a full tummy, I started my 6 miles hike along the coastal path from Newquay to Bedruthan's Steps. It was a clear day after a nite of rain. Blue Sky but still very strong and cold wind. Coastal paths are hiking path along the Cornish cliff besides the ocean. You would have great view of the Cornish beaches, beautiful cliffs and the crystal clear ocean on one side , and rolling hills and greens on the inland on the other side. There weren't many tourist hiking on the trail at this time as the weather is still pretty cold and windy. Most people would just drive to a specific beach destination. I think there would be more hikers during summer time.

My first beach encounter is Porth beach. The sea water has subsided leaving a huge area of sandy beach. On the left hand cliff, there are some vacation houses and the right hand side cliff is Trevelgue Head. Trevelgue Head cliff castle is an outstanding Iron Age headland to the north of Newquay in Cornwall. The ramparts are said to be still impressive and the site is most dramatic when a heavy sea attacks the cliffs. Spent sometime walking and loitering around this place admiring the view.

Walking on, the next beach is Watergate bay. Watergate is a large, open west facing bay with a two mile long stretch of golden sands. The beach is located at the foot of some very steep cliffs, although there is access down to the beach in front of the Watergate Bay Hotel. Next up is Mawgan Porth. I stopped here for a while on yet another chair overlooking the great ocean for a Snicker bar. Along the path, there are quite a few benches and chairs normally put by the people / family who had enjoyed the view at that particular spot.

Finally after some rest, I continued on to Bedruthan's Steps, yet another amazing cliff. At this point, I was thoroughly exhausted and could not carry on anymore. I was not sure how I would go to Padstow (a small fishing town which was my initial final destination and indeed I am too naive to think I could actually made it there on foot) or Newquay from here. I walked towards the road and saw a car park attendant chatting with a guy. I thought I might ask him the nearest bus stop. Otherwise, i would have to try to hitch-hike from the tourist there. Before I could ask him, I saw the bus coming and i waved like mad. The bus stopped and I boarded the bus with great relief. Phew.... the whole journey is thoroughly enjoyable albeit the extremely strong wind. Breath-taking views and nice houses along the path. I would love to have a house here with such amazing scenery.

The bus driver is a nice old man who is pretty chatty and cheerful. I chatted with him for a while as I was the only passenger on board. He said that in summer time, the bus would be sardine packed. Half an hour later, we arrived at Padstow.

In love with Cornwall - Part 1

It was a long weekend here in UK celebrating Good Friday and Easter Holiday (21 & 24 March) so off i went to Newquay, Cornwall to satisfy my yearning to see the great big ocean again. It was sunny on Friday morning when I woke up and had my breakfast. Then as I stopped at the petrol station to pump my tyres, sudden rain hit and soon it turned to snow. The snow lasted for about 8 minutes and cleared as I pull out of the petrol station. The drive from Swindon to Newquay is estimated to take about 3.5hours. There were quite a lot of traffic on the road as the 4 days holiday is just long enough for people to go somewhere for a break. In the end, it took me 4.5hours as there were 2 accidents along the motorway which slowed the traffic to almost crawling at 10mph.

It's about 2.30pm when I finally reached my hotel (Sandy Lodge Hotel) in Newquay. My room was pretty small and basic but have en-suite bathroom. As soon as I unpack my stuff, I set out towards Newquay town in search for my lunch. It was still pretty cold and the wind was extremely strong. I find walking against the wind is extremely difficult and the wind also blew up sands which make it hard to keep my eyes open.

The beaches around (Porth, Lusty Glaze, Tolcarne, Great Western, Towan, Harbour and Fistral) Newquay and the Atlantic Coast of Cornwall are simply among the finest in western Europe and, some would argue, the world. That special combination of crystal clear Gulf Stream waters and pale sand gives the beaches a 'tropical' quality - usually only glimpsed within the pages of exotic travel brochures. Standing on the cliffs overlooking any one of the many beaches within this region is to experience the very essence of Cornwall.

In the day time, surfers flocked the sea and brave the strong waves, children running around the beach, dog owners play catch with their dogs, lovers strolling the beach hand in hand... When night comes, Newquay turns into a party town with youngster partying in bars and drinking in pubs.

Cooking Made Easy

I am not a good cook nor am I interested to being one. I love it when someone else prepares my meal and I don't mind doing the clean up afterwards. Yes, I can do some simple cooking i.e. cooking noodle, frying eggs, or stir fry vege...but I usually keep it to the simplest act. When I was young, mom prepares the meals. After I left home for uni and when I was working in SG, it's so convenient to get delicious yet affordable food from those hawker stalls. At night, I would just steam corn and make myself some oat to go with my bread. If I really felt hungry then I cook myself some noodles. Simple.

After coming to UK, my eating style changed and I started cooking (to save money). Breakfast is still the same with coffee and 2 slices of bread. For lunch, I would pack my own sandwich (usually 2 slices of bread + ham + lettuce). The company has a canteen and they subsidize pretty heavily so that you can get a sandwich for GBP1.60 or a hot meal for GBP2.15. It is considered cheap especially if you go for the hot meal. In the first month, I would go over the canteen and grab a sandwich. After that, I started packing my own sandwich because it costs so much lesser. By doing this, my lunch for a week would only cost me less than half of what I used to pay. One down side is my lunch will have the same filling everyday for the week. Good thing I am not fussy about food and I don't get bored easily. I can have the same thing for months before I actually yearn for some change.

Dinner is the biggest meal of the day for me now. I get really hungry when I get home. Probably due to the coldness and also the light meals during daytime. I first started with what I am 'good' at, cooking soup noodles. It's fast, simple and the bowl of hot soup warms me up. Come weekends, I sometimes cook some rice and stir-fry vegetables and fried eggs or cook pasta. I still kept everything relatively simple.

Over the months, I have learn to add some variety into my meals. The first meat- based food I tried is grilling drumsticks. It's actually very easy to do when you have an oven. Just have to coat the drumsticks with some pepper powder, mixed herbs and salt, then set it into the oven to grill and its done. Same thing applies for steaks. Then in today's market, there are tonnes of pre-mixed sauces which helped poeple like me to cook up something decent. Just need to buy the meat, stir-fry some garlic and onions, dish in the meat and the sauces. Woala, you have yourself black-bean paste chicken, sweet and sour pork, curry chicken etc. just like those in the restaurant... well, maybe not as nice but hey, definitely no complains from me ;)

So yes, being here in UK has forced me to learn to do some cooking. Although I am no master, but I am pretty content to what I can dish out now. After all, good or bad I am the one eating it and so far I think I'm doing pretty good. Again not being fussy and not easily bored helps a lot.

来点饮料吗？ Would you like a drink?

British people loves drinks... tea, coffee, beer, wine etc... they drink a lot, they drink anywhere, they drink all day long... it's a way of life and it's part of the culture. In the office, you see people grabbing a cuppa and chat for a while taking a break. On the street, you see people taking a coffee break or chilling out at bars with a bottle of beer in their hands. At home, people have a drink to relax and also to warm themselves.

In the office, most likely there are coffee machines to provide the drinks. On the street, there are loads of cafe, bars or convenient stores to get your drink. At home, they uses an electric kettle to boil just enough hot water to make the cup of coffee or tea. If after one hour you want another cup, you boil water again.

I am still not accustom to this drinking culture especially when I am at home. I'm just too lazy to boil water to make coffee or tea. I just drink plain water. The only time I make a drink is on weekends morning and I use microwave to heat the water. On weekdays, I just get my coffee fix in the office. It's nice to get a hot drink to warm the hands and body in the cold environment. I guess it's the other way round in SG & MY, the weather is too hot and all drinks will be best served with ice ;p

开场白。Small Talk

One thing I noticed after working in UK is that people here always like to start a conversation (any conversation) with something totally different from the real intended topic. It seems as if it is not polite to just go straight up to a person and say what you intend to say / ask without beginning your conversation with a little small talk.

On Monday morning - "How's your weekend?"
After holiday - "How's your holiday?"
General - "Hello, how are you?"; "Hi, are you alright?"; "Lovely weather"; "Hello"

Combined into an actual conversation:
A: Hello, how are you?
B: Hi, fine thank you. You?
A: Good. Good weekend?
B: Yeah, pretty good. Took my kids out to the parks... (or whatever they were doing)
A: Ah, that's very nice. The weather was lovely, wasn't it....

--- this can go on for a few more lines ---

A: Well, actually I just sent you an email regarding ... (goes into the real topic)


To me it's a little awkward. But then, 入乡随俗 (you have to follow the local rules) so I too am trying my best to learn these small talks. Til date, I am still not doing well in this section ;p

天才身边的平凡人。The Ordinaries beside the Genius

The phrase was taken from the Japanese drama, Team Medical Dragon Seoson 2. This show is about a genius heart surgeon (龙）, his dynamic surgical team, their passion and vision in a typical Japanese hospital.

In the surgical team, there is a junior doctor who admires 龙 and made him his role model. He practices very hard and wished to become 龙 someday. Somehow (i forgot what happened exactly ;p) he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't be as brilliant like 龙. He was devastated and very disappointed with himself. He felt he is useless and couldn't carry on.

Seeing his struggle, another doctor came up to him and said "In this world, there are people who are extremely gifted and is brilliant in what they do. Everybody would try to become someone like that so he is respected by others. However, not everybody can become like 龙. He is a genius. You are not a genius. But does this means that you are useless? No. Because a genius can never achieve great things alone. To achieve greatness, he needs the help and support of ordinary people like you. Each individual has their own role to play and is crucial to the success of the surgery. Team Medical Dragon is a great team because everybody knows their roles well and play their part. Without these ordinary people like you, 龙 could never be so successful. So what you will not be a genius like 龙, you are still important to the team."

Yes, if you look around you, you'll see great leaders / smart people who are just so brilliant at what they do. They are good at identifying the issue, reacting to the situation and have great solutions to fix the issue. It just seems so easy to them. Like the junior doctor, we too wanted to become that great someday. But then, not everyone can achieve that. Not every one is cut out to be a leader. So it's perfectly alright if you are not be as smart / as great as that person. There are surely something that you are good at and you can contribute to the team. Know your strong points and work on your strong points. Play you role. Your contribution is no less than the genius when you play your role well. Even the smallest contribution is sometimes the key to the success.