Adventures in UK - Part 2
I know this is wayyyyyy over due now, but better late than never :P.
Since this is about the exact time and month I was there 2 years ago, i decided to blog it (however much info i manage to recall).
Continuation from my previous post Adventures in UK - Part 1
A short recap.
Day 1 was spent in Brighton - a place that's known for its sun and sand. It was a lovely Sunday when I touched down. I spent the entire day discovering the city of Brighton by myself.
I was checking in and out of hotels on a daily basis, which was quite tiring. I now know how nomads feel.
Spent a night in Novotel Greenwich on Day 2. Checked out again the following morning.
It was my 3rd day here, and I already got quite sick of English breakfasts. :P
It was pretty cold at the time (extended winter), and I was constantly hungry. I really pigged out to the max when I was there. Not that i could help it....
Leaving Greenwich.. 
Nearing Oxford... 
Martin (my designated driver) told me that these yellow flowers were actually grape seed oil plants!
Oxford town!
The air felt different, the whole area exuded a 'studious, brainy' feel. It was as if I was in some kind of intellectually stimulating place.
Or was it just my imagination??!
I personally think this is a very conducive environment for students. There are rows after rows of cafes, book shops, libraries, not forgetting clothing shops for students to hang out. Everything is here...
I wouldn't mind studying here at all...
Majestically glorified defined.
Left Oxford after an early lunch and headed straight to Cambridge.
This is Bellerby's College Queen Campus. It's awesome eh!
I was later informed by the students that no one is allowed to step nor sit on the grass. There's this very fierce keeper who goes around scolding around who does that. No one the grass looks perfect.
Checking out the facilities on campus.
This was one of the art rooms. Bellerbys has a high percentage of international students, in fact their student population skews towards international students. It's preparatory college for international students.
As I was leaving Cambridge I spotted this impressive structure..
The prestigious King's College in its magnificient splendour.
After visiting the Cambridge campuses (both Queens and Manor), I left for Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
All in all, I've travelled for 12 hours the entire day. Finally checked into Quality Inn Hotel at about 8+pm. I can't remember exactly how many hundred miles we've travelled (I had a personal driver (Mr Martin) to fetch me around. Belleryby's hired Martin to fetch me around these 2 days and to ensure that I get to Hertfordshire safely for my next assignment.
Quality Inn Hotel was the only hotel around the University of Hertfordshire (UH) area. It was about 5-8 minutes walking distance to UH.
There was a huge difference between the uber modern Novotel and Quality Hotel.
For instance, there was only 1 lift, and it wasn't working at the time I checked in. I had to drag my freaking huge luggages, through corridors after corridors.
I nearly pengsan-ed!
The cosy breakfast area.
An experience I'll never forget.
I was famished by the time I arrived in Hatfield. It was already closed to 9pm after checking in.
And of all things, I did something stupid..
I wanted to shower and immediately have my dinner after that.
I actually shut the bathroom door (which I didn't have to, but somehow I felt that it's safer to do so...esp since my room was on the ground floor).
After bathing, I found out that I was not able to unlock the door. The doorknob wouldn't bulge, there was no way I could turn it.
And..the bloody bathroom didn't have a intercom!! WTF!!..
I was screaming for help from my room, but no one could hear my cry.
I was hungry and thirsty and I didn't want the uni reps to look around for me the following morning. In my mind, I just wanted to get out and make myself a hot cup of instant noodle.
Just for your info, I'll be working with an entirely different group of institutions. My earlier 2 days was with Bellerbys. The rest of the 4 days, I'll be with the IBT (Institutes of Business & Technology) group.
I was desperate to get out!!!
And so..i started kicking on the door. I kicked and kicked, and finally severed a hole on the door! Thank God they used cheap doors! I extended my hand through the hole and turned the knob from the outside to free myself! And it worked!
Hallelujah!
Shit..did it mean I had to pay for their freaking door? The one I wrecked?
So I called concierge to inform them of the unfortunate incident. Apparently I wasn't the first to get locked in. WTF!!
So, i wasn't charged. Phew~
Memorable huh?
Day 4 - Hertfordshire Institute of Business & Technology (HIBT) and University of Hertfordshire (College Lane and St Albans campuses).
The previous 2 days was spent visiting the Bellerbys campuses by myself as it was an impromptu 'add on' visit prior to me joining the IBTs trip.
Now, this visit with the IBTs was different. Agents from all over the world attended this and I soon had some close friends as company for the rest of the trip.
Tiffany (Taiwan), Ivy (Guangzhou, China), Ada (Hong Kong) and me (Malaysia).
Tiffany, Ivy and I.
We got on really well and were chatting the entire time during our walk from the hotel to UH. I was so glad I no longer needed to do my assignment alone.
UH's College Lane library with amazing 24 hrs internet/com lab facilities.
With Susannah Poole from HIBT. Susie reminds me of the character Rebecca from the Shopaholics series by Sophie Kinsella. 
We checked out of Quality Inn the following day and travelled to Uxbridge where Brunel University is located.
Day 5 - London Institute of Business & Technology (LIBT) and Brunel University, Uxbridge.
On Brunel uni campus ground.
Tiff, Ada and Sam. Sam is Ada's bf, he came along with her for this trip. They left for Scotland after this trip. Ada wanted to show Sam the places she used to hangout when she was studying in Scotland and recreate some of those memories together.
The buildings and accommodations in Brunel were much more impressive than the ones in UH.
Angel (Hong Kong), Me, Ivy, Sam.
We were eating cafeteria food for lunch. We were impressed with the wide selection though. It was much better than the ones I had in my uni. I still remember we used to refer to our cafeteria as 'slops'!
Camwhoring after lunch...
The Brunel Sports Centre was mega huge. We were told that it was Olympics size.
Look at the impressive runways tracks.
With Stephen from Brunel Uni @ the Science Park.
Me with Chris (an agent from Melbourne). Chris works at Hobsons.
Our host brought us to Nonna Rosa, a cosy Italian restaurant in Uxbridge.
Ivy, Niha and me.
Niha is the daughter of this Indian agent. She brought along her hubby and daughter.
The 5 of us. We were the noisiest group. 
Now, allow me to introduce the place I stayed at whilst in Uxbridge.
Stayed at Red Lion Inn, which I found was still better compared to Quality Inn.
This is what I meant by corridors after corridors.
Of the 4 hotels I stayed in, 3 of them required me to go through long stretches of corridors and interconnecting doors to get to my room.
You have to open connecting doors, and get this, most ppl will have to lug their luggages around by themselves as there were just too many guests per hotel staff ratio.
At the lobby, by the fireplace before heading off for dinner.
View from my window.
Mmmmm...I wish I could wake up to such a pretty sight every morning.
Day 6 (Friday) was the last day I'll be spending with our host and the rest of my newly made friends. It was a day of leisure where we were shown some London touristy attractions.
We took the tube to the city instead of travelling by bus like how we used to.
The Tower Bridge.
It was quite a sight to behold.
Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream.
The guide shared with us that this American dude, Robert P. McCulloch actually bought the old London Bridge (which was later shipped to Arizona), believing that he bought the more impressive Tower Bridge. The man himself of course denied this.
The weather was getting warmer and I soon rid my cashmere trench in favour of something lighter, a puffa.
Some of the other agents have left (Ada, Sam, Ivy, etc) as they had other plans. While the rest of us continued with our city tour.
Strolling along the river Thames..
Susie and me posing with Tower of London in the background.
Melissa (from Perth Institute of Business& Technology) and I.
More of Tower of London.
Look at the myriad of tourists!! What a turn off eh!
Founded nearly a millennium ago, the Tower of London has protected, housed, and imprisoned many.
This was the place where dramatic events and quirky moments in the Tower's history unfolded - such as the attempt by Colonel Blood to steal the Crown Jewels from the Martin Tower (his brash effort was the closest anybody ever came to stealing the Regalia), and the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn (the second wife of King Henry VIII) on Tower Green.
Me about to go on a river cruise...
Awesome view of the Tower Bridge
HMS Belfast on my left .
HMS Belfast is one of the two ships forming the final sub-class of the Royal Navy's Town-class cruisers. She is now a museum ship in London.
With the Tower Bridge in the background...
City Hall
The City of London School.
On the front are statues of Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon, Newton and Sir Thomas More, the first four apparently nodding to its literary and scientific traditions, the last being a religious martyr, a famous lawyer, and the author of Utopia.
This building still stands and is now protected by a preservation order; it is presently occupied by the investment bank JPMorgan.
Now, this is the infamous London Bridge.
I wonder how the American dude felt when he discovered he bought the wrong bridge! What a vast difference hor! LOL!
The Millenium Footbridge.
The Millennium Bridge is known locally as the 'wobbly bridge' as when it first opened, thousands of people went on the bridge and it swayed up to 70cm!
It was immediately shut and extra strengthening work was undertaken and it is now perfectly safe.
Cleopatra's Needle.
It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819 by Mehemet Ali, the Albanian-born viceroy of Egypt, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. (source: Wikipedia)
Cleopatra's Needle is flanked by two faux-Egyptian sphinxes cast from bronze that bear hieroglyphic inscriptions that say netjer nefer men-kheper-re di ankh (the good god, Thuthmosis III given life). These Sphinxes appear to be looking at the Needle rather than guarding it. (source: Wikipedia)
London Eye, also known as the Millenium Wheel, is the tallest Ferris Wheel in Europe. 
Standing at 443 ft (135 metres), it is one of the tallest observation decks in the world as well as the most popular paid attractions in London.
The 'Erotic Gherkin' (left)
The Gherkin is recognised worldwide as a fantastic piece of architecture which has changed the capital's skyline.
Owned by Swiss Re and completed in 2003, the Gherkin is nearly 600 feet tall, the 2nd highest skyscraper in the city. There are 24,000 square meters of glass and each pane is a different size!
There's no doubt that this amazing architecture is one of the best places in the city for views.
St Paul's Cathedral
Palace of Westminster or Houses of Parliament.
Me, Tiffany and the Big Ben!
The London Eye experience..
Our host reserved a private capsule for us where we could experience the breathtaking view of London in luxury.
With up to 40km panoramic views on a clear day, the London Eye offers stunning views of London and its famous landmarks.
I was astonished with the incredible perspective of London that is at once a history lesson, geography lesson, cultural lesson and a lesson in engineering/design.
The capsule below ours..
Our group went on separate ways after the London Eye tour.
Tiffany said goodbye as she needed to pay a visit to another institution. After saying goodbye, I headed off to Covent Garden with a Thai agent.
Covent Garden is famous for its shops, street performers, bars, restaurants, theatres and the Royal Opera House.
It is the only area of London licensed for street entertainment and as such attracts performers from around the world.
Surrounded by Theatreland, in the heart of London's West End, the area is recognised as the capital's premier entertainment and leisure destination.
Covent Garden is an Italian-style piazza packed with restaurants, bars and fashionable boutiques.
This is my £10 lunch. I can't remember what it was, I think I had a bacon, lettuce and cheese toast.
I did my shopping around Covent Garden and Leicester Square (China Town area) and headed back to Uxbridge in the late evening.
Managed to check out this church in Uxbridge on my way back from the bus stop.
That was the end of my business trip in UK.
As most of my new-found friends (Ada, Sam, Ivy) had left, it was only down to Tiffany and I. We had a good girly chat that night as it was our last night together as we'll be parting the next morning. I actually felt rather lonely that night.
Left Uxbridge the following day and headed to the city to have more adventures with May, one of my best friends who's working with KPMG in London. It cost me a stinking £60 for the 45 minutes cab ride. *ouch*
More after this....
