Bath and Stonehenge

Went to Bath last weekend(2/12/06 to 3/12/06).

Wonderful wonderful trip I have to say. Everything just fell together nicely.

Weather was DEFINITELY on our side. Before we went we were still worrying that it might rain. In the end, well, it did rain. But only when we were sleeping or indoors. Other than the wind, which was perpetually blowing in our faces, the weather was nothing short of perfect.

We arrived in Bath at around noon time. Zhonghan's friend, Jinpeng, received us and orientated us to Bath. He took us to a field close to our hostel to see the city view of Bath. It was breathtaking. Everything looked so sharp and defined and bright. The air was so so fresh.

Then we went to the stonehenge, the "highlight" of our trip. I have to say, although the stonehenge is literally just a bunch of rocks, the sense of history is overwhelming. ( I will elaborate on this feeling of history later) The scenery of the countryside was breathtakingly beautiful.

That night we ate in an indian restaurant called Pria. When we reached our hostel, we left our bags in our rooms and headed back to the field we went to early in the day. (Joanne stayed in as she was tired, I think). At night, the view is very much different. Since we were the only ones there, there was a serene atmosphere lingering in the air. The openess of the field made the night view of Bath even more beautiful. (sorry no photos of the night view. cos i not power enough. ahaha!) Zhonghan, Teresa and I stayed there, doing nothing. Simply enjoying the peacefulness and openess of the whole situation. I guess at the end of the day it was the atmosphere rather than the view that made everything so wonderful.

The next day we ALL attended a church service. Because the girls are christians. Haha! Kind of funny when you think of the fact that a person like me actually went to a church service. Quite an experience I must say. Of course I didn't kneel or say prayers and stuff like that. But I felt the strong spiritual strength amongst the people in the church. Such is the feeling I find in most proper places of worship. The church we went to was called the Abbey. Its a very old and beautiful church. The whole of the Bath city centre basically revolves around this christian landmark. (Didn't dare to take pictures while inside the church. Scared kena thrown out. Haha!)

Then we had breakfast at a place called Sally Lunn, which happens to be housed in Bath's oldest house. There it is said the bread is made using an ancient recipe. I don't know about that. But I do know that the HOMEMADE BRANDY BUTTER HALF TOASTED BREAD was fantastic! Sure packs a punch in the morning! Haha!

We ended our trip with a trip to the Royal Crescent (where Johnny Depp is said to have bought a house), feeding swans, playing in the playground and finally a visit to the Roman Bath. (Come on. You go bath of course must go Roman Bath la!)

There is this feeling of rich history which I constantly get in Bath and at the stonehenge. Undoubtedly, these places are places with unimaginably rich history. The fact that when you place your foot on a ledge and at that very spot another person from another epoch could have also put his foot there, is amazing. There so much to see, so much to take in. We kept taking pictures till our memory cards ran out of space. It simply feels too good to be able to immerse yourself in such a wealth of history.

Throughout the trip, the group was very light hearted and relaxed. That's the way uh-huh uh-huh I LIKE IT!! So fun. Hadn't been that happy in quite some time. The company in this case is crucially important. A group of people with the common aim to relax and have fun. No one was too uptight or too slack. Everything was just right. We talked, just about everything. As we strolled through the streets of bath, the erm... what's the word..... ah yes, "qi" of the group if I may put it that way, was harmonious and simply wonderful. (Wow! it must have been a better trip than I thought, for me to use the word "wonderful" so many times)

Looking beyond the tangible aspects of the trip itself, I guess we must really cherish how things come together so nicely and naturally. The weather, the place, the people, everything. 天时，地利，人和缺一不可。 As natural and beautiful as water flowing down a river. Things don't always happen like that. So when such situations do happen to us, we must remember it, cherish it and write about it in a blog. Haha!

Along the way back, funny incidents like how the waiter at the Indian restaurant tried to chase us out to make space for other customers and how Joanne was like kicking herself over buying a dress (which I thought was very nice) that cost her 25 pounds flashed in my mind. I think there were instances when I smiled to myself. Hope Joanne didn't see this. Otherwise she think I SIAO! haha!

So we made it back to London. I sent Joanne home while Zhonghan sent Teresa back to hall. Somehow this weekend though eventful passed like a blink of an eye. What a fantastic weekend. Good times do fly by. I'm sure everyone in the group felt that way. Anyway that concludes our weekend trip.

Oh yah, before I end. I just want to say, some people DEFINITELY came back to London with more than just some souvenirs and a bunch of photos! Haha!