So, the long awaited blog posting from my trip to the Land Of The Premiership, or just England/United Kingom for traditionalists who prefer things to be called the way they are, is finally here.

Back from a 9-day hiatus (probably much longer, considering how long haven't i REALLY blogged over here) in England, spending 6 days in my beloved "home" Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and the remaining 3 in capital London (should have been more, but let's just say i felt 5 days ALONE in London was alil too much to bear, for both me and my pocket =x), i'm back in Singapore fully recharged, raring to get onto the final lap with regards to my club work with TPSU and end off the AY, and my life in TP officially, with a big..BANG!

I have to admit though, this trip was a real eye-opener for me. Throughout the 9-day trip i realised that the world is TRULY bigger than any single individual by themselves. I thought i've seen it all in Singapore but the people, the culture, the lifestyle over there is just tremendously different. Shops opened at around 10am and close at 5.30pm, meaning that for guys who were so used to the shopping culture in Singapore where shops don't close till 10pm, like Damien (my travel partner for the Newcastle leg of the trip. Kick-Off 1 co-winner alongside me) and myself..It was a bum-rush all the time we were out.

The irony was that i already knew that shops in Europe don't open late from my past trip to Czechoslovakia, yet i still made the very mistake i THOUGHT i wouldn't make. Hence, initial plans of sight-seeing places like Gateshead & Angel Of The North became frequent shopping trips to the Newcastle United club store which carried Newcastle products and merchandise. The amount we bought from the club shops were probably enough to kit an entire football team for the season but hey, you can't blame us when we enter heaven. This kinda things are never availble in Singapore man, damn to Adidas who feel that Newcastle United are not a big-enough club to bring their extended range of products into Singapore! But before you get your transistors worked up, note that NOT ALL THE SUTFF ARE OURS...we actually acted as middlemen between the lads back in NUFC-SG and the club stores. =)

With the above issue in mind, the lifestyle in England was clearly a lot slower than that of Singapore. Back home, shops opened till 10pm, people were always rushing through the streets as if nothing else mattered more than getting to work on time OR getting home after work. Over there, the only sign of such anxiety can only be viewed in urbanised office industrial areas such as Gateshead in Newcastle, Central London & Greenwich. (Then again, our disadvantage as SG is probably an entirely-urbanised city). Even the supermarkets, some which opened till late at night (photos later below), were filled with people who were seemingly content with their lives at the moment and live day-by-day. Not a bad thing as there's no pressure but just so different somehow. Buay Ta Han ar! Haha...

At the same time, it was good to get away from the stress and hassles in Singapore, to somewhere far, far away where you're practically unrecognizable except for your Asian features. It allowed my body to recharge as mentioned above, and also allowed me to clear my thoughts about every single thing back home, whether is it THE relationship or just simply, THE relationship. Haha, ok maybe not so funny, but having a good think about it really helps in further improving the relationship. More on that, and other matters in another blog posting..

So, after all wordy chunk of text above i believe all of you sPh3r3-fans out there are DYING to hear about my trip and how it really went..Well what better way to show you guys....than to upload my photos from the trip and let u feast your eyes on it. After all, a picture paints a thousand words...well, ok..Photo in this case =)

Here they are: