23rd Sept 2007 - Healthy Coffee & Reading London

Many people pronounce Reading as reading. Haha, you guys must be wondering what I’m talking about right? Actually, I’m referring to the place called Reading which is pronounce as Redding. I went there today with my friend to do some shopping. It’s a simple place, much better than Slough though, but the shopping malls there are not bad. There’s this mall called “the Oracle” which is famous in the region, boasting of many shops as well as restaurants and cafes. I felt pretty much tired walking around today, but I don’t think it’s because the area is huge but rather the fatigue is cumulative over the days of traveling and much walking. I didn’t have the mood to shop initially because the atmosphere just wasn’t there. I would have preferred London or Newcastle to Reading. However, for a smaller town like Reading, the number of shops and stuff you can find in the main shopping area is kinda good as compared to Slough. I did manage to buy a jumper and a shirt. Quite happy with my purchases since I think the shirt is quite cheap and it looks great. Doesn’t everything look good on me?

Haha, however I had bad luck with my eating experience in Reading. I spent 4+ pounds on fish & chips and it was horrible. The portion of chips they served was large, but the fish sucks big time. It’s overly fried. Gosh, the fish that is served at western stalls in the hawker centres of Singapore would probably be better and at least ½ the price or cheaper! To further make things worse, I ordered an ice café latte at another café while waiting for the train back to Slough. Guess what, they didn’t have sugar syrup to go with the ice latte! They told me to use the granulated sugar. I was like “Is the latte sweetened? You don’t have sugar syrup? How do I dissolve the sugar in my drink?” The thought that was going through my mind was “what kind of lousy place is this?” Imagine not being able to add sugar for your ice coffee. It’s the healthiest coffee I ever drank in my entire existence…

My day yesterday was great though except for lunch. Food again spoilt the day. I went to London and it was fantastic. I visited the Buckingham palace and was really lucky. There was a change of guards parade going on and the entire area was so crowded. It’s really cool. The music being played by the marching band suited the grandeur of the parade and it is nicer than the music being used in Singapore Armed Forces parades. After the marching of the band and guards, there was a contingent of cavalry. And the crowd that gathered to view the change of command was crazy. There was a sea of people flooding the whole place. Besides visiting Buckingham palace, I visited Downing Street, National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben etc. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are huge and the architecture of it will “wow” you. It’s splendid and definitely fitting for the British government. From there, I walked to several other places but the highlight wasn’t the majestic buildings but Regent Street. Girls, you will definitely love this street. Regent Street and Oxford Street combined is nearly 2km long if I’m not mistaken. Imagine 2km worth of shops and the amount of shopping you can do. It’s a shopper’s paradise, not to mention the other streets of London where you can shop as well. I was so engrossed in shopping till I didn’t have time to cover Oxford Street. Sigh, oh well, I’ll be going back to London tomorrow to cover the places which I didn’t manage to do so previously. It’s not possible to cover London in 1 day as the place is humongous.

Oh ya, as to why lunch was bad, I had to wait for more than ½ hr for my food which is only so so. The burger wasn’t worth the wait and money and the beer was ordinary, just nicer than Tiger beer but not by much. Erdinger still rocks man! I ate a donut from Krispy Kreme and it was nice. I think it’s nicer than what I tried from donut factory in Singapore. I still don’t understand the rationale of Singaporeans queuing 1 plus hr for donuts. For me, plain old sugar coated donuts will do and not those fancy designer donuts.

Tonight, I had my first cooking lesson and it turned out great. Cooked cream based pasta which is superb, I think it’s even nicer than some cafes in Singapore. What to do, my teacher is good in cooking. I told her to quit her job and go set up a café. I think she can probably cook better than those hoax Chinese takeaways in UK… maybe I’m exaggerating but she can really cook. It’s time for more cooking practices for me! Dinner, over these few days, has been nice because she’s cooking for me and my buddy. We’re crashing her place and she’s feeding us well. Guess when I go back to Durham, it’s back to bread and more bread. Need a girl who can really cook to be my flat mate and I’ll be redeemed! Hee, I supposed I've written quite a fair bit tonight but there’s so much more to describe and write about but I’m getting really tired now. After all, I’ll be heading back to London again tomorrow so have to conserve energy. Lastly, I won’t be uploading pictures of Windsor, London and Reading till I get back to Durham because my internet connection there is much faster than over at my friend’s place. Okay, my aching neck is a sign telling me I should end off now… London here I come again!