Monday, December 28, 2009 @ 12:25 AM Author: clarinda

16^th Dec

Arrive at London.

17^th Dec

· Attended two of Imperial College’s Chemical Engineering lectures

· Saw an enthusiastic lecturer who made his students come up with exam questions (complete with solutions) and do a presentation

· Had home-cooked Thai Cuisine (pineapple rice and tom yam soup)

18^th Dec

We went to London Luton Airport for our morning flight. However due to bad weather conditions, the flight was delayed. Hence we played cards to pass time. Eventually, all flights were cancelled due to heavy snow. In the end, we decided to have dinner 1^st before taking a bus to Birmingham. I chose to buy a sandwich and have milk. In the process of putting my sandwich into the oven for heating up, I scaled my hand. What a way to start a trip! Kee Sheng and Kok Chong went to Earl’s Court for dinner and then bought Indomie, a loaf of bread, nutella and nice biscuits. Everyone stayed at my house for the night.

19^th Dec

We woke up at 5+am and had bread with nutella for breakfast. I then call for a cab at 6am to Birmingham International Airport for the flight to Tenerife. Thank goodness we did not rebook the flight from London Gatwick to Tenerife, or we would have been stranded again. When we arrived at Tenerife, the weather was terrific!!! It was above 20^oC…finally away from the gloomy UK weather =)))

Taking a bus to Callao Salvaje, we arrived at our accommodation (Aparthotal Perla Gris). The apartment was fabulous!!! As all of us did not have lunch, we decided to buy some ingredients to go with our Indomie. As usual, we bought other stuff as well such as pizza, nuggets and chips. For lunch, we had Indomie cooked by Kee Sheng and poached eggs by me. My first time trying Indomie after hearing raving reviews about it. It is seriously yummy =) We had chips as well. Following, we whipped out our cameras to take the sunset. Due to cloud cover, we could not take photos of the sun at the horizon. Nonetheless, our two professional photographers (Xiao Ting and Kok Chong) did try their best.

When it was about 7.30pm, we went down for our BBQ dinner that we have paid for. It turned out to be different from what we expected (as in the charcoal and grill stuff). We had potatoes, chicken, pork/beef chop(couldn’t rmb), sausage, bread and salad. There was free flow of drinks till 9pm. I realized that I am the only one who disliked beer, thus I chose a drink that contains red wine with a fruity flavour. It tasted good and I had lots of it till I decided to stop as I was feeling the heat. Bad news. The food was not too bad, but 13 euros meant that it is rather expensive.

20^th Dec

We had full English Breakfast at a café near our accommodation which costs us 3.50 euros per person. We realized that we have been cheated as we saw at Playa Americas that for double the portion, the cost is 1.90 euros. At Playa Americas, we bought the tickets for the dolphin and whale cruise-seeing which costs 35 euros per person. As we moved on, we realized that we have yet again been cheated. Another shop was selling the exact same package for 28 euros. Our plan of renting a car was aborted when we went back to the 1^st shops again, because all shops were close to closed and cars were not available. It was sort of a good thing as strictly speaking, only KS is qualified to drive. However, XT have more experience than him. KC did not drive since passing his driving test. RK and I were still waiting to learn till our training course begins.

After the failure to rent a car, we had lunch at a restaurant (outdoors) close to the sea. We ordered mixed seafood grill and grilled fish. These dishes came complete with canary potatoes. I love the grilled fish!

For the rest of the day, we walked from the beaches at Playa Americas to Los Cristianos, before heading back to our apartment. We settled our dinner at Café Europa which is located across the street from our apartment. I ordered Veal “Milanesa” style which came with chips and salad. It was not too bad, except for the fact that it was oily. We ordered a Canarian chicken for sharing purposes.

21^st Dec

Seeing that the weather seems good, we decided to get to the summit of Teide. On the way up on the bus, the weather was getting more floggy and misty. I could feel the coldness as well. Halfway through, it started raining, thus we couldn’t take the cable car which has stopped functioning due to bad weather conditions. We then proceeded to continue the bus journey to El Portillo. It was sunny momentarily before it started raining when we reached there. Three of us had Spaghetti Carbonara, RK had Spanish Omelette and KC had Ham Omelette. After having lunch, we planned to walk as long as possible to a volcano as the entire return trip will take 3hours. We only had less than 3 hours. The weather was really bad, as in it kept raining. As my jacket hungrily absorbed water, I ended up wearing KS’s jacket to avoid catching a cold. The umbrella that I was holding broke due to the strong winds. Halfway through, we decided to head back as there was nothing interesting ahead (from what we gathered from people heading back). We had still had some time left when we reached the bus stop, hence, we went to seek shelter from the rain. The guys ordered hot drinks, however as I was thirsty, I did not order as I would rather have water. When it was about time, we went to wait for the bus. We send a representative to check out if the bus has arrived while we waited in the toilet. It was such a cold and wet weather. I felt so cold that I shivered as the bus make its way down. Why on earth would they want to turn on the air-conditioner on such a high altitude? It was partly due to my wet jacket as well. When the bus stopped midway, we quickly filled up the 500ml water bottle from our 5L bottle. I nearly died of thirst. Just kidding =) When we finally got off the bus, we felt so good as the temperature was about 20^oC, much higher than when we were up there. We then headed to have Seafood Paella. The waiter served all of us (except RK), in the sense that the paella was on a huge plate, so he transfer portions onto our plates. It was delicious, ignoring the fact that it was rather salty. As our dolphin and whale-seeing trip was tomorrow’s afternoon, and the pick-up time was 12.05pm, we went back to play cards. As usual =)

We watched the UK version of Crime Watch as well. The crimes were more serious and brutal in comparison to those in Singapore.

22^nd Dec

I got up at about 9+pm even though we were supposed to go over to the guys’ room (for the first time). The only reason is because the room number on the cruise-seeing receipt on theirs. Breakfast was eggs, nuggets and an awful-tasting ham and cheese thingy. After which as it was still rather early, we walked around our area taking photos.

The bus that came to pick us up is 8-seater. After picking the 5 of us up, the driver went on to pick up a family of 3 from another hotel. Before we get onto the cruise, we were asked to take off our shoes. Upon reaching the cruise, they took a group photo of us which they later sell at 2 for 15 euros when we returned. After putting our stuff below some seats, we went to lie on the net. It was really comfortable except for the fact that the strong sea breeze caused me to feel so cold that I needed to get my jacket. The toilet is disgusting as it couldn’t be flushed. Even though there were free drinks, I only went to get a cup of water and fanta respectively during the journey. Our photographers, XT and KC, were sea-sick. The only video that we had was captured by me, not for long though as the camera battery died on me. I was really excited upon seeing the whales, especially when they came really close the cruise. However my videos were extremely shaky as the cruise was shaky (due to the wind and waves). In the end, KC could take it no longer and puke. Generally speaking, our photographers slept almost throughout the journey. It must have been awful for them =(

On our bus journey back, KC got car-sick and vomited yet again. Thus, we went back instead of going straight for dinner so that he could take a shower.

Dinner was at a French restaurant. Meals cost 7.90 with a glass of free wine. As I ordered grilled hake, I chose white wine. The grilled fish was nice. As I disliked white wine, I attempted to finish as much as possible in the shortest possible time. Bad choice. I got really giddy after that, I felt my head spinning. However, after resting for a while, it got a bit better. We then went to a bar and the three guys ordered beer. We took cards out to play again. The loser for each round has to drink beer. It was seriously a torture for me as I hated the taste of beer, so bitter. The rest for them said that the beer was quite good, and it was sweet. SWEET?? As if..When the beer was finished, we had to head back for an early rest as KC needs to get up early tomorrow morning for a 1pm flight. It is quite a distance from our accommodation to the hotel.

23^rd Dec

I got up at 8+am(I think) and showered. The guys came over early as I was still bathing when they came over. We then went to our next accommodation which was closer to the airport. As we have yet to have our breakfast, we stopped over at Los Cristianos for it. The three of us ended up ordering a 2.50 euros full English Breakfast, while RK ordered a veggie burger. I do not really like it as it was extremely oily. My two eggs were literally soaked in oil. After our breakfast, we continued our journey to El Medano. Our rooms there pale in comparison to what we had before. The girls’ room had cigarette smell, so I slide open the door to the balcony to let the smell filter out. After putting our stuff down, we went for a stroll at the beach. The wind was strong, so serve me right for refusing to bring my jacket along. There were lots of people paragliding and doing other forms of water sports. We took a few photos along the way as well. It was a rather relaxing atmosphere. The sand was soft and firm, and I like it as it is comfortable to step on. After the stroll, we went to a German café for tea break. XT and I ordered heiss schokalade(Hot Chocolate), while KS and RK ordered drinks and burger. We had their fries as well..heehee..

I regretted drinking the hot chocolate as it doesn’t sit well in my stomach. It is probably too sweet and chocolately for my stomach. We then went to a supermart to get some food ration for our flight. RK and XT are taking the 9am flight to Madrid while KS and I are taking the 11.45am flight to London. After our brief grocery shopping, we headed back for a bath before heading out again for dinner. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant and we ordered some stuff for sharing (which I could not remember the name). There was free beer, which I happily agreed to it before passing it to the guys. The food was still alright, not fabulous I would say. After dinner XT and RK wanted to have gelato. It was when I saw a cute, big but blind dog. Conveniently, its fur covered it eyes too. It honestly couldn’t see. I love it so much that I went to take photos with it. When they were done with their gelato, we headed back for cards game till 10pm in consideration of the morning flight.

24^th Dec

XT and RK left at about 6.30am for their flight, while KS and left at about 8.15am for our flight. As we couldn’t get a cab, we went back to the hostel to request for them to ask for one. The cab literally came in less than 1 minute as we were told. XT was right about spotting a stretch of cabs down the street. The journey costs about 12 euros. When we arrived at the airport, the counter has yet to open. It was not till later we realized that it doesn’t matter to us as all we had to do is to go to the Ryanair counter to get them to stamp on our boarding pass. On the way to the gate, we realize that our flight was delayed by about ½ hr. XT and RK were still waiting for their plane to arrive at gate 15 when we were heading to gate 17. After speaking to them, we went to rest as it was still early(9am). Our boarding time is 11.40am. At 10+am, we decided to have brunch as we yet to have breakfast at BK. We ordered Big King meal which costs us 6.60euros each. One thing good about Spain is that there is no extra charge for extra sauces.

Our flight took off later than planned, but it doesn’t matter at all as long as it takes off. I seriously dread the return to UK due to the horrendous weather. As it was a four hours flight, it was thankful that we had our handphones with us to listen to songs. We had some food and drink (that we bought ytd and earlier on) as these stuff cost a lot on the plane. Upon touching down, we realized that we could not make it in time for our 5.10pm bus from London Stansted Airport to Victoria due to the long queue for passport check. We spent about an hour waiting for our turn. So tiring. I stupidly carried my bag almost throughout before realising it and deciding to put it down. By the time we board the bus, it was about 6.45pm. we touched down at about 4.45pm (I think). It was cold waiting for the bus, but I had no choice as the bus was really small. If we waited in the shelter, we would not have gotten onto the bus. Thank goodness that the bus was warm. Upon reaching Victoria, we took the tube to Gloucester Road. When I picked Xun Yang up from KS’s place, it was already about 8pm. After putting down my stuff, we went to have dinner at a Thai restaurant. The food was still ok, and it was too expensive. We went back to shower before KS came up. Their house has no internet, so all of that laptops were already conditioned(as in it will automatically be connected to XT’s house wireless connection). This was because we had to send an email regarding the ferry that we were supposed to take but failed to due to flight cancellation. As all supermarkets were closed on Christmas and Christmas’s eve, KS brought some food up for us to last us for the next few days.

25^th Dec

The tube and buses were not in operation, so KS brought us to Hyde Park which was within walking distance from where we stay. The weather was cold as usual, but I am thankful that it was a clear day, no heavy pours of rain and fog. We got to see Queen Vitoria statue, big, fat swans and ducks on a half-freeze lake, Prince Albert’s memorial, Royal Albert Hall, squirrels, Princess Diana’s Memorial Fountain, Wellington Arch, Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s column. It was such a long walk in a cold weather. From Trafalgar Square, we head to Chinatown, only to find out that only 1 Chinese restaurant was opened. We ordered rich and half a duck which cost us around 24 pounds. We then took a taxi back to Cromwell Road to KS’s house. There is a Christmas dinner for about 10 people. Some of them were KS’s house mates, the rest were their travel mates to different places. When we reached home, we watched kite runner on an ultra huge flat screen television. The movie is really good (recommended). Most of the dishes were prepared by KS’s and KC’s friend who is currently studying in Germany. He seriously looked like a profession when it comes to cooking. We prepared char siew(pork + char siew sauce) and duck. Both of which were put into the oven. While we were having our dinner, we watched Internal Affairs. We were fully enjoying our holiday.

26^th Dec

XY and I went to Oxford street for shopping. There were as usual throngs of people rushing for the deals plastered on the windows of the shops along the street. We shopped till 3+pm before heading to Dover Street at Green Park station as XY wants to see the shop of her favourite designer. It was a bad day as I lost my debit card and my Oyster card (I topped up 20 pounds in the morning). Luckily I managed to cancel my card. We then headed to Harrods and I got some stuff. The building was magnificent and huge. The interior was elegant and the toilets were amazing. There were about 4-5 different bottles. Some were hand creams and some were perfumes, of which 1 is from Vera Wang. Amazing isn’t it?

We saw Princess Diana and Dodi’s Memorial at the basement as lots of people were frantically snapping shots of the ring. I took a photo of the statue of the chairman (Dodi’s father) as well. By the time I returned home, it was already 8+pm. My dinner was at about 9+pm. I had Indomie with cabbage and prawns..yummy =D

27^th Dec

Falling short of cash, I went to cash in my remaining euros for pounds. I was conned. There was 10% service charge. I must be blind as I did not notice a commission-free currency exchange on my way to this conned shop. Cheated me of about 35 euros =(

Nonetheless what has happened has happened. Bad day again. I then went to top-up my Oyster card and head to Sainsbury to do some grocery shopping for my remaining days in London. I am gradually getting tired now. However, I still head out to Oxford street for bargains. After all, this is once in a year big sales. I got myself a pair of boots, tops and a skirt before returning home. Dinner was Indomie again, but with fish fillet and iceberg lettuce. I got to turn in early as tomorrow will be a long day. Photos of my trip to Tenerife (Canary Islands) and London will be posted on Facebook in a few days time (I hope). ^_^