Thursday, May 10, 2007
It's been a good 10 months since I left London. And I really do miss the place.
To tell you the truth, having done my 'A' levels in Cambridge, I had fallen in love with the university town concept. It is "quaint" to say the least, and I've never been a city person.
Ah the days at The Leys School Cambridge, still rank amongst the best of my life. On a sunny sunday, a bunch of us would walk into town, get into a punt, row under the willow trees and just relax. It was amazing.
I've dug out some old scanned photos to give you a sense of what life was like. But really, they don't those times justice.
I loved how we had to dress up in our blazers, and ties for class. There was a certain decorum we had to present as English gentlemen. Chapels on sundays were an opportunity to wear coloured shirts (A privilege normally reserved for house boys and girls).
Classes were a real event. I mean I distinctly remember, one day for English literature, the sun was out in all its glory, and the teacher Mr Kelly just said, lets head out there, for this class!
So there we were, stretched out on the lawn, basking in the sun, reading poetry. Every single verse was read with that much more emotion. I left that class, with a total sense of satisfaction, so hard to find in most instances, but so easily achieved in this one.
Here we are on a punt. From L-R, Isabelle from Germany, Julian from Ipoh, Philipp from Germany, Roman from Russia and Alan from Taiwan.
Prom night! What a laugh looking at this one hehe.
I made some of my closest friends here. Hahaha. Every saturday night we were allowed a night out on the town. So we would walk across the fen to granta or somewhere else, down a couple of pints and bugger back to drink more.
Except for me lah. The most I would oblige my friends was a pint of cider. Afterwards I would get into my room, and lock it! The whole night, my friends would be banging on my doors and offering me vodka. Hahah, with the slight throb in my head, just enough to put me to sleep, I would ignore it! I remember how one night, Roman, my russian friend even did a commando, climbed the roof and tried to get in from my window (It was a sort of loft room).
Then there were the trips! Official and unofficial!
Italy! OH MY GOD ITALY! The best trip ever! Man so much shit happened on that trip its not even funny.
Here we are eating desert in one of those roadside cafes in Rome, soooo nice I tell you. The four of us I remember, walked back, under the red glow of roman streetlamps, in the middle of the road, to our hotel. We really din't want the night to end. And on the way back, we din't say much, possibly because we just did not want to spoil the moment.
Weiyao, Mike and Myself, in Capri! Still the place I want my dream mansion.
There was also the trip to America, which I can't seem to find photos of. And later after graduation, Roman, Kelly, Philipp and myself went off to Bangkok and Koh Samui for a good time.
Woh that was another hell of a trip.
There were these four wheel pickups for rent on the island. And none of us had a license besides Kelly, but we din't care and they din't either. And to tell you the truth, even without a license, I definitely drove better than kelly who nearly got Roman and Philipp killed. Yes, that is my best girl friend for you.
Here she is, taking it easy as we hike up a waterfall trail. Hahaha, roman got leaches stuck on him as he went under the waterfall, thinking it would be more like a scene out of "blue lagoon".
So vivid in my mind, was how as we were driving back, and we hit the coast, the scene of a pink sky, reflecting off the sea's surface. That was quite something. Again, another one of those moments, you just can't buy.
If I could turn back time ...... that would be the moment I would rewind back to. And that night in Rome.
