Back from Budapest

Yeap I just got back from a weeks holiday in the sunny Budapest. The weather in the UK is still the same just as before I left... that means overcast with rain and still cold. Please bare with me and give me sometime as I slowly write my travel story and also organize the oh-so-many photos i shot there...

白天变长了

转入春天，白天变长了。。。 太阳很早就升起，一直到晚上8点多天色才开始暗下来。经过一段蛮长灰色的天，阴天湿雨，终于等到了好天气。很喜欢长长的白天，尤其是我即将去游玩了。一个人出游，基于安全理由，我大多天黑前就结束当天的活动。所以当白天变长了，我活动的时间也相对的变长。可以在外流连较长，把握时间多看多逛。

哦，好期待下星期布达佩斯之行。。。

random...

Sent my Micra for MOT testing on Saturday and it passed the test :) Yippie...

After the snow last weekend, the weather is getting better. Getting more sunshine now and the temperature has risen which is pretty nice.

Another 3+ months to go and my 12 months contract will come to an end. How time flies... starting to think what will be my next step and how should I approach it...

Counting down to my Budapest trip...

春雪。 Spring Snow

Yes, on Sunday 6 April 2008, Swindon town is covered with snow. Although it's already Spring now and the temperature has risen to 15 degrees for a couple of days, but on Sunday morning when I pull open my curtains, I was surprised with an all white view... SNOW !!! WOoHOo... finally a settled snow about 1.5inch thick ? Previously (months ago) it snowed once or twice before but it didn't settle. But this time, out of nowhere, it snowed and settled. I was very excited and after making myself a cup of hot Milo to warm up, I grabbed my camera and went outside. Got to capture this scene rite... although it may look a bit 'sua ku' of me to do that... but what the heck =)

First I walked down the main road in front of my house towards the town. I see cars on the road covered with snow, trees with their branches layered with snow... but I found as I approach nearer the town, it doesn't seems to be much snow there. Guess the town is warmer so not so much snow there. So I turned around and head towards Queens Park and hit the jackpot there. All the greens in the park has a layer of white snow on top and gives a very different and refreshing sight.

Quite a few people are also in the park taking photos of this unusual spring snow. hehe at least that makes me felt that I am not so 'sua ku'. There was a snowman on the field but it's not so good looking. Stepping on the snow and walking is a pretty interesting experience. On the pavements / road, its really slippery. But on the grass field, it felt very soft. Hmm... I think I need to consider getting boots if I ever wanna walk in snow next time as the snow tend to melt through my snickers.

So here are some photos taken for this unusual spring snow. Enjoy.
Spring Snow

P/S: Today, as I walked out of my office after work, I noticed it was snowing again. But it didn't last long this time. As I reach my house, it has stopped completely. Well, as I said, British weather is really unpredictable. What more we have the global warming effect which has completely change the weather behavior around the globe now.

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.