2010 in review

Below is the review statistic generated by WordPress and I thought its interesting to share…the statistics of course could be better and I certainly think it could be much better. But just want to thank you guys for the support…especially those listed below, you know who are you. I want to make my blog more popular…so I hope to put in more efforts in this blog.

for a start, please subscribe to my blog if you can..this helps!

have a fantastic 2011!!!!

Love,

Ashley

 

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has 296 steps to reach the top. This blog was viewed about 1,100 times in 2010. If those were steps, it would have climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa 4 times

 

In 2010, there were 9 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 199 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 54mb. That’s about 4 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was October 1st with 96 views. The most popular post that day was hellooo London.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, educationuk.org, iamprincesspiggy.blogspot.com, WordPress Dashboard, and ashtravelp.blogspot.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for camden market blog, all leather shops camden market, vintage trunks, blending of the ice cream mix, and interior a warden’s office.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

hellooo London October 2010
3 comments

2

Ash on 1st day of School October 2010
5 comments

3

About aShLeY September 2010
2 comments

4

Visa trauma… September 2010
3 comments

5

the city buzz… October 2010
3 comments

Au Revoir 2010..bienvenue 2011

Just want to write something before I leave for a 5-day trip to Plymouth, Southwest of England, where my friend’s husband stay.

I am filled with thoughts this morning. This is the last day of 2010! And thinking back (during my shower), it has been an extremely long year for me. You know when they say time flies passed quickly when you are having fun, but not when you are dreading it. I guess I have a very wavy year, not that I dread it, but just full of ups and downs.

First part of the year 2010 has been very down for me when I keep feeling that advertising is not for me and I reached a crossroad in my life when I was lost. Thankfully for a dear friend of mine, whom I should have visited her in Paris…I turned my life around and made a heroic change of direction in my life. I took the road less travelled, dropped my high paid salary and gone down to becoming a poor student.

It has been 3 months since i lived a down-to-earth life..Nutella is only my indulgence, mind you! My life used to be filled with many good food, loads of magaritas and mojitos, and filled with daily shopping…..now..its bread and nutella..and occasional cheap travelling to nearby area either in UK or Europe…(its cheaper travelling from here…)

But is it worth it? You bet! I am happy everyday, filled so satisfied every minute. I love school and feel i didn’t have enough of it. A smile filled my face when i am in the bus in the mornings to school. I am charged in my life, i filled energetic. Of course I have my moments of sickness, and downs when I thought about my family and home. But..well..9 more months to go for me here.

The thought of what’s next frightens me…but this is when I have to work hard and i bet when i am successful, I will feel more pleased and satisfied than ever. I learnt a lesson in 2010. That is, no matter what you do, just be happy doing it. A simple philosophy….Just have to do something that makes you happy…

With that long thought….I wish all of you a fulfilled, happy and fruitful 2011! I wish mine to be achieving and fruitful too. Love all of you!

XOXO,

ASH

OXford – Like an strong ancient ox

Well, not the Oxford Street in London City..but I was in the Oxford Town…the famous Oxford…famous for? Famous for its University of Oxford which conjures so many talented souls. Indeed, the moment when I got there, the street is full of youngsters..and they lOOk different…these youngsters..hmmm they dressed decent….like the typical models you see in Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren ads…those neatly combed hair, beautiful faces (that looked like they are born rich) and super neat and expensive casual wear..you know what I mean? There are people that looks just like that…well, of course there are also those on bicycles who looked like they just woke up, messy hair…these are the you-know-who…..not the you-know-who from Harry Potter..but the studious nerds..uh-hmm..

And Oxford..is so different. This is the first place where they ask you to pay for the map. I think it was 3pounds…but i just refuse to pay…Everywhere else I go its free. Because this is such a tourist place, that they start charging for everything..and this is not the only example. Nonetheless, this didn’t spoil my mood in this gorgeous-looking town! I was so busy looking at the buildings that I can get lost. No problem getting lost. As i heard..the best way to travel is to get lost!

My friend and I reached the place really early. So we decided to go for a walk at their Botanic Garden. And oh my god..was it a huge one and very very lovely! Well, pictures first.

The morning fog and haze makes the place lovely..but freezing cold of course.

Sneak preview of their buildings.

Here’s the last picture of the scenery at the Botanic Gardens..before I bore everyone with all the trees. The buildings you see in the below picture are that of the Cathedral. It was closed, otherwise we would have gone in. Have I mentioned that University of Oxford has many colleges around Oxford? So maybe one of the buildings around belongs to that of Uni of Oxford. Doesn’t it make you want to study there?

 

Before I start to bombard you with pictures of the various architectural buildings in Oxford, here’s a beautiful bicycle that i spent 10min shooting it….So lovely…its the kind of fairytale british kind of story where you ride this bicycle to school to meet your beau..you study with him for years, get married, ………haha…and…yup..this bicycle is an advertisement for a cafe…:S

We just literally walk around the town the whole afternoon snapping away pictures of the buildings without knowing what they are. But i hope you are enjoying it as I do. For the below picture, look out for the various ‘heads’ on the railings.

There are so many colleges in Oxford, that the tourism board provides guided tour in some of them. And you need to pay entry fees to the colleges. We were there on a Sunday, otherwise we would have participated in one of the tours. We took a peak inside some of the colleges (see below one of them), they are very nice! Those you get to see only in movies with stories by Jane Austen. And Harry Potter’s fans behold! The famous big hall where all of them have their meals at…is at the Trinity College. Like i said, i would have paid to go in but it was closed.

Something to remind you of Harry Potter i guess..

Do notice the lovely & romantic looking window below… :)

After looking at all these architectural photos, do you feel you have returned to the 1920s victorian era? I certainly do. My friend repeated like 50times that she wishes that she could have studied here..and  I agreed with her 10times and ignored her afterwards. Oxford is such a small little place yet its all so beautiful. And have you gathered why I said Oxford is like a strong and ancient Ox? To me, an Ox existed for the longest time and an Ox looks strong, classic and unique, and even medieval looking. Just like the place.

We ended our day trip in Oxford on this little hill with a strong sunset overlooking some of the buildings.

This is a place that I will definitely revisit again. And I will make sure i will visit Trinity College….. :D

 

To read on…  http://ashtravelp.wordpress.com/uk/oxford-like-an-strong-ancient-ox/

Fairytale land in UK – Brighton

Brighton – “Brighton up your day”!

2 hours coach ride away from London, you will reach this beautiful pier which almost feels like those fairytale land in Japanese comics.I was greeted by the beautiful Brighton pier (a long pier stretched out to the sea) with all the amusement rides, shops that sell candies, donuts, ice-cream, donuts, etc.

This guy was very surprised that I asked to shoot him…I think I might have just made his day!

Brighton Pier is literally a long stretch filled with 2 big amusement parks with all the games where you exchange for toys, rides, arcade games, etc. It has shops for you to buy donuts, milk shakes (which I was very tempted), candies, and all sorts. I must say its a very good place to go during summer. Indeed, the long stretch of shops as you would see below along the ‘shore’ sell stuff like photos (either painted or shot by artists) nicely framed up, provision shops (that sell ice-cream…seemed inappropriate for the cold)..and of course pubs.

And, I am not sure whether you have noticed…the ‘sand’ are in strong brown colour..they are not sand….the usual beach we know comprise of sand..but over here, its all big pebble stones. I would think it’s impossible to walk on the ‘shore’ in heels…but it’s interesting isn’t it.

Other than the fairytale pier, Brighton is in itself a small city. I was there mainly because of the once in 2 years Photography Biennale where over 100 exhibitions are put up around the town. I was exhausted simply after a few hours hunting for all the exhibitions scattered around the town. But it was all worth it! I learnt quite abit and it was nice travelling alone sometimes. Feel the moment of quietness, sitting by the cafe talking to an old lady (who said I am studying the wrong course.. : ( ), and sitting by the pier eating the dinner i have made for myself..and watching the sunset, feeling the vast beautiful sky.

I called this place a small city as Brighton is filled with alleys of shops with expensive brands. Like a modern Venice, you can get lost in these alleys but eventually you will be able to walk out of these alleys and go into the main street. The Royal Pavilion as shown below is a highly recommended place to visit. It used to be a royal residence and its architecture looks like a Taj Mahal with a Chinese flavour. It was supposed to be built in a fashionable way..and its indeed different from the other pavilions.

The 2nd picture is the back of the pavilion and taken at a different time of the day. I was passing by to go to the Brighton museum and the below struck me…Not only because of the nice autumn colours, but also I saw a squirrel and a few rabbits running around…how pleasant!

I planned to spend 8hours in this beautiful city…but turns out that by 5pm, I am done with all my photo exhibitions hunting and since I am not into shopping (not when I am a poor student), I was left with 3 hours of ‘free’ time not knowing what to do. So, I braved the cold and sat by the pier. And just to share with you the beautiful sunset I caught.

And the last picture is that of the Brighton Pier. If I have brought along the tripod, you would see a picture of the pier brightly lit up against the black sky after 6pm. And that will be gorgeous!

hmmm…I do find myself starting to pick up the British’s way of saying things. They like to emphasize on their emotions when they made certain comments. So when they see something nice, well, the Asians or rather the Singaporeans will say ‘nice’, ‘not bad’, ‘cool’…but they will say ‘fantastic’, ‘gorgeous’, ‘amazing’, ‘isn’t that lovely!’. At first I felt they may be too exaggerating and you tend to disbelieve all these expressions, but when you start to use these expressions, you will begin to notice there is nothing wrong with expressing fully what you feel about things. Sometimes, its good not to feel too repressed. Just let it go…I guess that’s the spirit here.

all famous Camden Market

A grimly London day turns out to be all cool at…Camden Market.

This is the market reputed in London for its punk shops and according to a publication ‘grubby and round around the edges’. In my own words, it’s a huge market full of funky, heavy metallic, 77th Street kind of shops…this is the place for cool stuff…if you want to have a dragon tattoo at your back, a piercing on your tongue..this is IT. The moment I got out of the station, the shops exterior hits me interestingly…and the place is just so buzzy and crowded..and it was only a Thursday..

First impression does count. And above…just means its a start of a cool market. As you walk along, you come by this bridge with the canal called ‘The Regent’s Canal’ (see below) and it splits Camden into different markets, i.e. Stables Market, Camden Lock, etc. Left side of this bridge has Camden Lock, and the other side of the bridge has something else. It’s a maze for the first time.

And as I just finished school, I was famished and decided to have a quick meal before starting the tour. And this area here sells international food for mostly GBP4 you can mix and match the dishes, e.g. Thai, Japanese, Mexican, etc. And they have dishes for you to choose and they provide you with a aluminium small tray and pick anything you want as long as it fits into this small tray…all for 4pounds. And once again, interestingly, they have the following as seats for you to enjoy your meal…along the canal…Can’t help but to feel I am in Thailand.

You know…I think all these gimmicky things do work on tourists…For those seeing it for the first time…like me..i do find it interesting to sit on it…Almost want to take a typical tourist photo..of me sitting on the scooter eating the food…but my aim now..is to look less like a tourist although my entire appearance is apparently not so. The shops in UK generally do not like to be photographed..unless you do so secretly outside of the shops. So I am going to run down a list of things they sell..if this interests you.

- leather made bags/jackets. You can customized your design with any kind of leather and pick from their ready designed items….And I was sooooo tempted to get one sling bag for 45pounds. I was this C LO SE to getting one but its too expensive for me..My brain forbids.

- clothes, apparels…though not those designer’s stuff but rather it seemed like the apparels are from some other places….there are a few locally designed stores..but just not as many as you would find in portobello…

- home decor…I went crazy there with all the home decor and some of it that’s so british style….the clocks designs are those you see in train stations in UK…and they are actually quite affordable! Just that not to me as a student..Oh so lovely.

- they have vintage clothings..a few shops..And vintage stuff..I managed to sneak a few shots.

The vintage trunks…makes you feel very Louis Vuiton isn’t it….

I have a special feeling towards all these toy buses and cars..especially the ones from UK. Feel so nostalgic (although I am not sure what I am nostalgic of)…feel so 70s…just can’t put a finger to how I feel about these. MAybe I have played with them when I am a kid…maybe.

The highlight of my trip to Camden has definitely got to be the pumpkin ice-cream I have…It’s a special for the month..for halloween of course. This ice-cream is not ordinary ice-cream you find….the shop is very unique, creative and the ice-cream you can tell, its made with loads of love by the maker. Yes…the ice-cream is made right in front of you! ermmm not the mixture of course…but from the mixture onwards. So…the guy blend it in front of us..and filled it in with nitrogen oxide which is like minus degrees…the guy has to wear googles and a super thick gloves! The entire concept of the store is like a science lab…and the assistants are the chemists. Interesting isn’t it? So gimmicky..yet so fun. But what matters most is the ice-cream. Its super-delicious! The nitrogen thing works well….See pics below.

Firstly.’Chemist’ makes it really cold using what I remembered as nitrogen oxide (i might recalled wrongly…).

Then it is the blending of the ice-cream….like some fake dry ice..but its not! And this is to make the ‘dough’…which is the ice-cream!

Then with loads of patience and ‘love’, he carefully take it out to put in a cup. And we proceed on to the next station for the toppings which we rightfully chose a very good mix for the pumpkin ice-cream – caramel with hazelnuts! yummm..

Enough of food…I am usually not the type that will blog about food…but this is different..its a must-tell everyone about it! :D

More random snapshots of the Camden Market…very snappy shots…

I was there on this day because they claimed they have a pumpkin festival due to the halloween. Other than the pumpkin ice-cream, I was looking out for pumpkin snacks….but to my disappointment, there aren’t any. So I ended up taking pictures of the interesting pumpkin displays along with my friend Janice who was here for 2 weeks.

Voila! Hope you have a good halloween! On both Sat & Suns, the streets are filled with horrible looking parties-goers. And on Sunday evening itself, every 5min there are kids knocking on my landlord’s door asking for ‘tricks or treats’?…And my landlord prepared a bucket full of Mars chocolate…i almost want to take a few bars….but i think there wasn’t enough in the end..it was gone before i know it…damn!

Edinburrgghh..Scotland

After 8h45min on an overnight coach, I arrived at Edinburgh COLD. It was early in the morning and it was drizzling. The wind feels like sharp coldness piercing through your body…..Edinburgh is just FREEZING.

Despite that..which maybe is a factor that makes me reluctant to go back to Edinburgh again…it’s a beautiful place.

I reckon that maybe because the location is near the coast, and its further up north (near the equator i think..), and that is why its sooo cold. And the name is more than appropriate..edinbuurrghhh….<sound you made when you are shivering ‘burrghhh’> And appropriately, the brits pronounce it as e_din_bvrgh (blur)…

The central area is small…everything is clustered around one area…and I mean everything (alright, at least most)..like the sightseeing places, shopping areas, restaurants, etc.  But generally, I like the place. It has a flavour of medieval cultural times. It has its signature historical buildings like Edinburgh Castle, Scott Monument, Nelson Monument, etc. Oh the famous Rosslyn Chapel (as featured in the Da Vinci Code) is 7miles from the central Edinburgh. If you are keen…

Edinburgh is separated into 2 main areas – the new town and the old town.

The old town has a deep medieval flavour which I love it. Buildings are old yet very architectural beautiful. The roads you walked on, you can almost imagine the old cart with horses and medieval people passing through the streets in their old Victorian style costumes….I can so imagine that. Here’s a picture of the old town from Calton Hill. And behind the clock tower, its the Edinburgh Castle.

Have you felt what I felt about the place yet? Below is the New town and you can see an amazing stark difference.

And here’s another side of the town which I believe belongs to the New Town. And the famous cemetery on the right. The one with the spikes is like an open theater for concerts, etc.

We were up at Calton Hill where we see this amazing scenery. It’s bloody cold and I wish it wasn’t so that i can concentrate on this beautiful scenery of Scotland and not have to think about the wind. I have always wanted to visit Scotland but this is not what I think it is. Maybe I need to visit the countryside. My concept of Scotland is an old town with nice lavendar field and some old English pub…This is more city like. And the famous Scottish breakfast..it is like the English breakfast…with beans, sausages, poached egg, tomato, toast..and a black pudding (with goose blood i think…)…..eeee..

The below National Monument is a Scottish’s memorial to those who died fighting for the UK in the Napoleonic Wars.

And this is the view from Edinburgh Castle and on the right you can see where we were with all the monuments at this hill.

Enough about these. Street pictures now.

Below is the Royal Mile street. It’s called Royal Mile because the queens used to travel by this road which leads to the Edinburgh Castle. And when they want to name this road, they could not think of a better name and they were not creative before, hence they called it ‘Royal Mile’. The road is not exactly a mile, and it was slightly more than a mile. Because of this, a mile in Scotland is longer in measurement. This, i heard it from a guide during the walking tour I took.

Below. The Scott Monument.

The autumn garden.

And finally, the Edinburgh Castle. The castle was not what I expected it to be. i paid 13pounds to get it…it’s quite expensive if you ask me. I expected to see the real halls and rooms of the original castle. Instead they turned each room and halls into exhibitions. They exhibited the history, the crown, the rooms of the prisoners. Nothing really to show the original state of the castle. And the exterior I feel has been preserved and sort of renewed…looks like a new castle to me. So it was kind of disappointing. But nonetheless, it’s a place you have to go when you are there…the view is magnificent so you can enjoy it.

Above: At the entrance.

Above: Houses inside the castle. The castle is like a small village, it has a few of such buildings. And below, the prisoners’ quarters. I read that these prisoners are from other parts in Europe such as France. And they are paid expenses by their own government…Well, they still earn a living inside the jail. So some prisoners use it to bribe the wardens, buy ciggies, etc.

A few other pictures of the interior.

Lastly, the grand Edinburgh Castle.

Overall, Edinburgh is a nice place to go for around 2 days. You can also visit their Royal Yatch Britannia which is a rather popular tourist attraction. The yatch is used by the royal family for their state visits or family holiday. I thought it would be really freezing if we need to go to the coast area, hence gave it a miss. Edinburgh is also known as the writer’s place as alot of writers used to reside here. Hence, they have a writer’s museum, Scottish Poetry Library to visit if you are interested. Oh, if you would like to uncover the history and mystery of Scotch Whisky, learn how they distill it, and know the various characters of whisky….Edinburgh is the place to go.

Did I also mention that the Scottish has a very deep country accent? It sounds funny to me but its great ‘luv’!

the city buzz…

I stood in the busy streets with my eyes closed. I heard alot of voices passing by me…and most of them sound foreign..

there are what sound like italian….english…there’s mainland mandarin…and every other foreign languages all sounds german to me.

This is what London is…a blend of cultures..a melting pot of every other ethnic groups in the world.

When I tried to fill in the form to register for a GP at the clinic (the British get free healthcare)..the column for just ethnic groups are long….and Asian to them are the darker skin ethnic groups..not the SEA…and alot of them are amazed when I ticked my first language as English. Singapore is not officially a English-language country..and I am still facing ignorant city people either in London or in Australia about their knowledge in Singapore. Well, I can’t really blame them..Singapore is not like Thailand..not like Australia nor China..that’s huge in size and well-known…for many right and wrong reasons…

Here are some of the streets pictures. I have been here for 2 weeks and it’s time I start all my writing and exploring of London. i have taken quite a long time settling in, getting adjusted to where I stay..and get acquainted with school and people. We have received our first project in school..that is to shoot river thames…how interesting is that? Well..its up to our interpretation to make it interesting. First assignment…one of my classmates (they termed classmates ‘colleagues’ here) commented that we should not submit our best work..so at the end of the year..we would have deemed to make tremendous great progress! Sounds right isn’t it? ;D

Regent street, London

Regent Street, London

Toilet in the middle of the street in the city

Tower bridge from the Monument

Tower bridge taken at ground level..on a brighter day.

When the sun is out..people are out..and conversely too...at Tower bridge area

River james...along the bank

More pictures to come on your way soon….

Ash on 1st day of School

First day of school! How can I not take a quick picture of myself before leaving the house? Just to capture the beautiful mood I am in. And to finally put up pictures of the house that I stay in. Its quite a nice house if you ask me except for a few spiders here and there. And instead of cats, they have foxes at the backyard… Pictures speak for itself.

And how am i going to spent my winter cold nights? Hibernating with the below….They have more…i have to do panoramic with this!

hellooo London

It was crazy! Bought my ticket a day b4 flying! It sounded like some crazy mission trip to be buying ticket for the next day for a yr..LOL But that’s fun!

Reached London and my landlord’s place at 3.30pm…I was feeling all excited..adrenaline was high. Its like i was in a dream..yet its not pinching in yet. The landlord, Maddie, is extremely kind and helpful! Not only did she give me a cheap rent but also she repainted the wall, the make-up table, and bought new table! So sweet!

And i do not have a wardrobe!! its the English style to put your clothes in the drawer! feels funny for me..but i would get used to it!

I still cannot feel i am in london. Its so surreal now. Perhaps let me settle in for abit. I was supposed to join Maddie and her family for dinner last night but fell asleep at around 8pm till now. I woke up at 6am..and decided to do all the research and plan for my day.

London here I go. School is starting on Mon. And i should be adding pictures soon!!!

I miss the warmth in Singapore!

Visa trauma…

Received a call from British High Commission office in KL this morning, just half an hour right before my movie with my dad. I was so looking forward to the movie as its a nice thing to do with your dad in the mid-day. But they have to call during that time and stirred my feelings.

The girl was very unsure herself of the request. She asked me to provide a test of which I clarified whether its my results slip from my school. She said yes…and to my understanding this is the only document that I did not submit as it was not a requested document….even the school agent agreed…And so after 10 overseas calls after my movie to the KL office, I managed to get the girl again…And this time she said its the English test that I took before I went to Australia to study, which was like 8-9 years ago!! Oh mine. My heart sank….And i vividly recalled that the English test I took back then was a SAT test and not a SELT test that she was requesting. And she has to say in a very low tone “you have only 3 working days to provide this document, otherwise your application will be refused.” Oh mine….

I panicked..and quickly rushed home to check my English test result slip and found really weird that they are requesting for that…if I can pass my degree back in Australia…wouldn’t I know English……….So I called the student agent “Overseas Academic Link (OAL)” and I have to encourage anyone who is planning to go UK/Aust to study, please use them. They are really helpful…And they provided me with the contact person in-charge of visa in the SG office of British High Commission.

I called..I bugged..I pressed panick button. Finally to cut the story short, we believe what the KL office girl wants is a English test that everyone have to take if they submit their application (for school’s acceptance) after 12th August. And I have submitted and received this piece acceptance doc before 12th August….So they might have overlooked this…

So as of now..the lady in SG office of BHC is trying to correspond with the KL office for me and clarify…..I would only know any update or outcome tomorrow morning…More waiting…

Enough trauma for the day…I am like feeling so helpless now…Can’t do anything now…