Friday, October 06, 2006

Wonderful Wales

Me travels to Wales was really good. here are some of the reasons:-

1. Meeting new frens from all over the world!

That's one thing i really like bout backpacking - you get to meet loads of really nice and interesting people. The highlight of the trip for me was the last nite in Fishguard when we sat in the dining area - 2 Malaysians, 2 Germans, 1 Brit and one Chinese who is living in the the States - and just chatted.



2. A close second - the coastal path in Pembrokeshire National Park.

Cliffs, sea, waves on one side, green fields, hills and stonewalls on the other. Breathtaking! :-)



3. Lounging around watching satelite TV

OK - this may not seem much to you but after living in a lounge-less flat for more than a year, it felt so at home to just sit around and vegetate before the TV, watching Friends, Buffy and other movies together wif me mate Markus and 2 Aussie girls.



4. Seeing wildlife in the wild!

It's one thing to watch seals perform in the zoo - it's another to see them swimming in the sea and lazing about on the beach, calling out to each other!!!!

Near the lighthouse was an almost heart-wrenching scene. It was the only point in our walk when it really poured. There was a dead baby seal on the shore - and the mother (or so that's what those there werer saying) was just swimming around the area, prolly not being able to pull herself away from her baby. :-(



Besides seals, there were also ponies and other small creatures along the way! But no sightings of whales. Yup, we din see no whales in Wales. ;-P

5. Seeing Monet's paintings in the National Museum & Gallery of Wales



I almost missed this! Would have shot meself if i did. It was a joy to see Monet's paintings (from the Davies' sisters' collection) - there were a few from his Watelilies series and some from his Venice series too! Absolutely brilliant! Truth be told, save for that, the museum was only alrite. They did have some of Sisley's painting and Rodin's famous sculture of The Kiss!

Can't take any pics of the paintings (naturally) so i bought meself some of the postcards - a poor (extremely) substitute but at least it's better than nothing.



6. The frenly Welsh people

People there were generally frenly and nice, returning smiles and greeting us. In Cardiff, a girl came up to us and offered unsolicited help when she thought we were lost!

And it was nice to sit in the bus, watching the views of the sea on one side, and rolling green hills on the other and hearing the people chat in Welsh! :-)

7. Wandering around Bute Park early in the morning enjoying the cool autumn morning.



8. Wandering around the streets of Cardiff

They had some really interesting shops selling equally interesting stuffs. Fancy a Jesus action figure? Or a set of nun-chucks which literally chucks nuns????