whymustitellyouwhatidoinsep: A visit down there.

Stony Southampton!! Just days after the Birmingham trip was our midweek travel to Southampton. The bus ride was almost 4 hours and I read my one and only reading I have done on it!! After that, I drifted off to dreamland before being woken up at Coventry and spending the rest of the bus ride listening to the Jay Chou's new album that Tong Wei transferred me. He still rocks. Say "see you" already, only to realize I cannot see you anymore~ What an emo line.

Upon reaching Southampton, we were supposed to rendezvous with Yaw Vwee somewhere in the city, wrong, town centre where he agreed to pick us up from. Mindy was having her project meeting and Yaw Vwee picked us up with the CAR. Woohoo~ Everyone was excited at the prospect of driving around in UK and the price was just about alright when split amongst us. Even Mindy, the one without a license, had a go at driving the car around a bumpy carpark. Alan was the craziest for attempting to drift the car in the stony carpark. He managed to half-succeed while dirtying the whole car with fine sand in the process. Despite our excitement and crazy antics, any damage to the car will cost a hefty £600.00!! This makes driving really stressed. Anyhow, the Peugeot 308 was a very nice car to drive as its clutch is very easy to control and the car is very stable even at great speeds. Only thing that got us all was the wipers and signals that swapped places. I guess the reason we all loved the car was that it provided warmth in the teeth-chattering cold weather and shelter against the strong winds.

After Yaw Vwee picked us up, we picked Mindy up from her campus before heading to the famous Stonehenge. Located right smack in the middle of nowhere, the Stonehenge is just a collection of heavily-weathered stones arranged in a peculiar fashion. It was supposedly the best time to visit Stonehenge and I could see why as it would be doubly cold and boring during winter. The white clouds, blue sky, green backdrop makes this an opportune time for nice pictures. Listening to the free audio guide, certain portions were interesting, especially the ones about the myths and legends of the place. Apart from that, I have to say it is a really well-marketed pile of rubble.

After the visit to Stonehenge, we dropped by Salisbury and visited its cathedral as well as a random park. Subsequently, it was getting late and we decided to head back to Mindy's posh place at Montefiore House for dinner. We bought some groceries which Mindy paid for (I guess she is feeling guilty for not preparing her "3 dish 1 soup") and whipped up a fulfilling dinner at her kitchen.

The next day, we woke up early for the long trip we had prepared! New forest and Jurassic coast awaited us. First up was New Forest and we went to a place called Bolderwood which was supposed to be a good spot for deer watching. Well, we were bashing through the woods and feeling cheated when we caught sight of not one, but two deers. The first was running ahead of the second, and constantly turning around or stopping to wait for the other. They seem to be a pair of love deers, running freely through the woods. Instantly, our hunter instincts took over and we began tracking the deers. We managed to spot them in a clearing not far ahead but it was at the same time that they spotted us and fled. As a result, we didn't get any good pictures of the deer that was worthy of the occasion. Poor us! We did get many shots of the typical cow and horses after that though as we travelled to various other spots in New Forest. I guess horses and cattle are more domesticated and used to humans than deers.

After that, we headed to Swanage, which was the beginning of our fling with the south coast of UK. The beach was freaking COLD with the winds constantly howling at you. It was the only cold beach we had ever experienced with the sun shining, at this point of our lives. Damn sua ku. We randomly saw some postcards and of all the postcards, the most beautiful one was a place called Old Harry's Rock which was apparently very near us, according to google map. Without further ado, we headed towards it. We hiked for approximately an hour to reach Old Harry's Rock and lo and behold, the view was breath-taking. The treacherously steep slopes and narrow paths to the edge of the rocks makes you envious of the birds who can fly freely to whereever they want. The strong winds and numbing cold makes it all the more dangerous to navigate the narrow path as the control you have over your body is reduced. It felt unreal to be at the edge of the UK (when referring to google map), and being at a site where you have only read from geography textbooks on coastal erosion. It definitely brought back memories of the awe and wonders of Mother nature that I first felt in Switzerland. Humans are but minute beings amidst our planet and simply one of the many organisms here on Gaia!

Sadly, 天下无不散之筵席! All good things come to an end, and after sending Yaw Vwee off, it was soon our turn to leave in the wee hours of the morning. May our student exchange programme not end so soon!!

Yes, I drove this car.