london 2 (end of sequel)

... and so i'm back from london.. that amazing 6days pattern..

while i savour the yummilicious macaroons from Laduree, there ain't much left now... here's a pic of that place in London. Interestingly, while i was on my way back to the hotel on my last clear day, on the tube an elderly man looked at my purchase of macaroons and said:

elderly: wooo~ that's lovely...

me: yea.. i wish i could buy the whole place back

elderly: but the one in paris is much better

me: i guess so, it comes from there after all..

elderly: its only a day's ride on train from here(london) to paris

GULP~~!! i should have seen this man earlier in my triP!! then i could make my way to the one in Paris.. yesh.. i got that spur of the moment conviction to make my way there just for the macaroons.. haha.. see what food does to me.. my goodness.

macaroons aside, on my last day i was so desperate when i learnt that my dearest cousin won't be meeting me for a day of shopping till late evening that night, xk suggested i make a trip to the British Museum for a look. and so i begin the quest to beat the cold and head out. i took a quick look at the mirror of myself before i got out of the door and thought my fringe looks cute.. so here's a less cam whore pic of me...
to my surprise the museum was packed with visitors that morning.. then i realise it was a friday and many ppl in that continent takes long off days to travel ard during christmas and new year..and they like museums and historical stuff.. haiya.. cultural differences lar..


upon entering that place, i'm greeted by this statue with long horizontal wings..

then on the left there's this statue that looks nothing similar to the history of the english's.

after walking ard looking at statues and monuments of different cultures this artwork caught my particular liking. at first it looks like two pcs of disgusting looking junk. then when looked in detail, they are made of dead carcasses of some animal.. then when i draw my view to a larger scope, i noticed the shadows.. then it all linked.. the cruelty of the early man is pure disgusting. somehow it feels that the artist has driven home a point..

nice work.

i was at the info counter Q-ing to buy the audio tour when i asked the lady where are the rooms in the museum which i MUST go.. so she pointed out a few and said:

this.. this this...this.. u should go and this.. but this are the ones where the mummies are..

they are the highlight..

and so when i was walking ard those 'mummies' i can't help but feel that its such a joke that they are even in london. for someone who've been to egypt, i can fully fathom the big diff.. the need for the right things to be at the right places..

the setting is not right.. the whole pic is skewed.

to put it not-so-nicely, these so called dispays are 'stolen'.. taken.. back to england when their early explorers discovered them and proclaimed it theirs. its like seeing a black kid with a pair of white parents.. the distinct difference cannot be ignored..

*i have no purpose in stirring shit between the races, its all for the sake of illustrations

samurai suits.. i hope they still have heaps of them back in japan.. if its only a normal/common samurai suit i'm still not that affected. but its some one and only pcs that someone important in the history of japan wore before but is now in england rather than japan.. then it just doesn't seems right.. there's such a strong sense of injustice here.. even more so when you know that it surely wasn't a peaceful or amicable transfer of these items... but most likely with shedding of many innocent blood, threats.. etc..

this huge head here is quite realistic.. the subsequent pics are taken separately of the inner area of the entrance.. its pretty huge that place..

left

centre

right..

i took a last pic as i headed out of the museum.. there're tons of ppl heading in still.. just look at the crowds.. but i like how the two botak trees stood at the extreme corners of this pic.. like waving good bye like that to me.. heee

out of the gates of the museum i smell food! so i followed the scent and found this! hot dog cart!! yoo hoo!! i can't resist and joint the Q. hee.. it didn't taste fantastic but having something warm in such weather is always welcomed..

so after that visit i headed harrods for another round, last one for the trip, of tea at Laduree... hee.. again i was taken care of pretty well.. somehow i always find favor with the service staff there... it must be the year 2009 lar.. pastor say its a year of free flowing favours for us mah.. after i took my orders, i was presented with some canapes, free on the house AGAIN. haha.. like everytime i'm there i'm bound to have free food de.. hahah.. and being typically singaporean, free stuff, i like!

at dinner, i met up with esther and david and we feasted..haaha.. look at the size of those plates of rice.. hahaah.. it didn't come across to me that they were huge then but now it does.. haha..

david was the first to polish off his stuff on the plate.. we didn't.. we struggled.. hahaah.. we even gave him some of ours.. haha.. he was a happy man..

our spread...

after dinner coffee.. esther was tired from the flt from singapore that morning and so we ended early. till next time!

i'm so tired posting this long long entry.. stay tuned for my resolutions for 2009! hee..

ciao!