Trip to Ol' Blighty

                          A stroll in Lower Earley, Reading, with Faiz.
                                                                             Picture credit to Hassan.

Some ramblings about my third trip to the UK. The first was back in 2003, second was in 2008. This time around I took comfort in the fact that my buddy Faiz was there - accommodation can be so damn expensive in UK, as I learnt in 2008. So yeah, Faiz was my main motivation. I wouldn't have embarked on the trip if Faiz wasn't making a living there. Besides the fact that I'd be staying at her place in Reading, I was actually overjoyed  - I havent met her for almost three years and I miss her coolness, her wisdom, her sense of humour and her sense of style. People who know Faiz would know what I meant by the latter. Hehehe.
This time I stayed for three weeks. Rented a car and did some touring up north with Faiz and Hassan and Hakem - all I know or can recall) was we drove up to Stratford, Sheffield, Corby,  Bath, Chester, and Brighton. Went to London to catch a show. Then on my last day went to Sonning and Henley - which are not that far from Reading. Dropped by Windsor Castle on my way to the airport.  I'm not gonna describe these tours in detail for fear of sounding vain. Or jakun in Malay. Plus, the landscapes that I saw are not something that you can't watch on movies like Sleepy Hollow or Pride and Prejudice. I love them all, nevertheless. Forever framed in my memories. Reading is a nice town, not too crowded and "foreign". Hehe. Faiz fulfilled her promise to bring me to three outlets - which also made my trip this time around worthwhile. Yeeha! Went to Bath Spa Uni and I was really taken aback. I was awed with the greenery and the Englishness of the place, yes, but let's just I felt really ambivalent. Hehehe. Faiz teased me endlessly about it. Conversations that ensued after the Bath trip always revolved around a horse - that I'd have to own one in order to survive there. 

I think I'm just gonna recap my trip this time under these two headings.

Things I missed while in UK (in no particular order):

My family
Izzy
Korean drama
Muse

Things about UK that I will miss dearly (in no particular order):

Cool breeze kissing my cheeks
(Faint) din caused by Hassan and Faiz in the morning, getting Hakem ready for school
Yellow-and-red-trees landscape
Shopping with Faiz
Asda
Reading buses
Outlets
Charity shops
Costa's coffee and sticky toffee pudding muffin
Caversham's onion bhaji
English tact-courtesy
Throwing anything that you've got into the pan to cook up something
The never-ending pavements
Hiding the insecurities I feel about my body under a jacket
Power-walks around Reading
UK X-Factor
Cath Kidston's cutie stuff
Hakem's mint tea
Elderly couples holding hands and supporting each other

Some images that I captured:


Can I have these in my bedroom?


Can I have these everyday, please?


 
“I fall in love with Britain every day, with bridges, buses, blue skies... but it’s a brutal world, man.” ~ Pete Doherty

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