day 1..

Hello from Cardiff! I'm happily blogging from my little room in Severn Point, a 10-min walk away from the College. 

The journey here wasn't as smooth-sailing as I thought it'd be, but I'm thankful that the Lord has been faithful and provided for each situation. Someone once said that if anything can go wrong, it probably would. How right that person was! As I touched down in Bangkok, I realized that my ticket to London said that the flight was on 23rd November at 2335HRS. It was 2200HRS then, and if the boarding pass had been correct, that would have meant spending a day at the airport in transit! Then there was the problem of spelling. My name was misspelt on the boarding pass (but the Singapore immigration didn't notice), and I was afraid that I wouldn't be let on the flight. The Thais didn't speak good english as well, and this was yet another problem! And so I made my way to the counter to ask, and walked (far!!) to the transit lounge.  The staff there were nice, they settled the problem of the spelling for me. The flight was due to depart at 0035, so I had an hour to wait around. 

The plane ride to London was long, and there wasn't any in-flight entertainment as it was an old plane. 13 hours of boredom. I slept fitfully, and stayed awake most of the time, reading or staring out of the window. Even going to the toilet was difficult as it would mean waking the neighbouring passengers to pass through. 

After what seemed like an endless 13 hours of waiting, we landed at Heathrow Airport, London at 0600HRS. The view just before landing was absolutely magnificent. To see lights lining the streets of London, and the colourful circle of lights which lit up the London Eye.. Simply amazing. (look towards the top of the photo, in the centre)

The luggage came out after a long wait, but thank God I cleared customs quickly. The signs to the Central Bus Station were quite easy to follow. I was in a queue for a coach ticket to Cardiff, and the lady working there said that there was a coach which left in 5 minutes. She held the coach up for me and I made my way there. I would have to wait another hour for the next coach otherwise =P

 That's Matt from Bristol (and Beep the sheep. You'll find Beep in other places in this entry), whom I got to know on the coach. It was gloomy and rainy.

Bristol, with its brown buildings. Just when I thought the day was going to stay like that, the weather brightened up.

 It was still raining, but there was a bit of sunshine (: And Beep the beady sheep continues his travels. 

Newport. One stop (approx 15 min) away from Cardiff. I reached Cardiff at 10.40, and Shing Min was there to pick me up. She brought me to Severn Point, where I 'checked-in', and then it was off to Tesco's (huge departmental store, kind of like Carrefour) for grocery shopping! I bought food, a duvet and a pillow. The walk there was scenic, and we had to walk through a park. It was super stressful at the cashier's! We're expected to pack our own goods, and all the cashier does is to scan and push it aside. With the long queue behind, it sure can get quite pressurizing.. 

Headed back to Severn Point after that, unpacked and laid out the bed sheets. 

 Much more comfy (: Spot the sheep! That's my bed. So here's what my room looks like:

The table and the bed. The bathroom's attached and the kitchen and living area is shared with the other flatmates. 

Right now it's 8pm, I haven't slept for the past 24 hours! School starts tomorrow at 10am. Going to get a good rest now. Nights~! (: