LONDON!

I was determined not to let my blog become a domain where I talk ONLY about school and students, but that's hard for most teachers because our work takes up so much of our time, and like what many people guessed correctly, our social circle is indeed rather limited outside of school. Hence the lack of updates on my blog. =p

But here I am blogging...at a small little cybercafe off Charing Cross Street, London. Actually, I logged online to ..ahem...set exam paper * sigh, very tak-glam * (have to email exam questions to my colleague), but seeing Glen's tag I decided to blog..just a bit.

London's been great....staying at this backpacker's hostel which is like right smack in the middle of West End, where you can barely walk 100m without walking past a theatre. Plays, musicals, drama, it's everywhere! Sharing a pod dorm with 5 other people: Rachel and Amanda from America, sweet Hirokochan from Tokyo, veteran and seasoned traveller Auntie Boots (she's lived everywhere it's impossible to categorise her nationality, although she looks Chinese) and an American guy who parties the nights away so I have never got to talk to him so far. Great fun in a backpackers' hostel!

Although I intended to spend minimally on this trip, I realized that it's next to impossible. The musicals and plays are so tantalizing that I have to indulge myself. (at an average of £30 per ticket I think indulge is the right word.) But they are so fascinating compared to anything i've ever watched before. So far i've caught Les Miserables and Equus (staring Daniel Radcliffe, i.e. Harry Potter stark naked). Hopefully Phantom of the Opera tonight?

And the selection of DVDs here is AMAZING. I am referring to world cinema/arthouse films from all over the world. And some are actually cheaper than in Singapore, like only £3 - £5. And the selection is so much wider compared to Sinagpore where censorship is practiced with an iron glove. The oh-so-notorious-in-Singapore Borat hangs on HMV's shelves in London like nobody's business, and it is actually rated 15+. All the famous movies that I could only hear/read about in the past are all calling out to me. Another indulgence.

Okay okay..now I have to get back to setting my papers...because London awaits me! More when I next get online....