Finally at Cambridge

First of all, I have arrived at Cambridge safe and sound. I have not experienced any jet lag so far, thanks to my cat naps in the plane. And talking about plane, my luggage did not arrive at the same time as me. It was probably stranded (or missing as I first thought) somewhere in Bangkok when I arrived at Heathrow Airport.

I understand the situation at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok when I transited there. Come on, even their own newspaper wallop the airport, so what do you expect??!! I personally do not think they are ready for such a big airport yet. The systems are not up and the staff are not properly trained to handle the passengers and the volume. It sort of marred the image of a high-tech looking airport.

The staff are not well-communicated among themselves and confident in what they do and say. At one point when I asked for directions (because the airport was so big with no proper signages), I was led to the passport control area to stamp my passport instead. Smelling something fishy, luckily I enquired further at the passport control area and asked if I needed to stamp my passport for transit. The officer said no and I asked around again for directions. It was before 4 to 5 attempts before I got to where I was supposed to go. Phew....that was the first sign of problem at the airport. Of course, the worst for me was that my luggage was missing when I arrived at Heathrow!

At Heathrow, I filed a report of lost luggage and they told me that my luggage was probably one of the thousands that were stranded at Suvarnabhumi. I was thinking.... great news! How was I going to live the night without any warm clothings? But thank God, the luggage arrived by the evening at my place. It was a blessing in disguise per say. I remember my luggage came a day later in Japan too, because I opted for the delivery service. This time, it was an "accidental" delivery service to my doorstep. As sickening as I may want to avoid saying this, I guess the "ghost of Japan" is haunting me....hahahaha

Apart from this minor hiccup, I am really happy and excited to start my new academic life in Cambridge. I have expected a lot from this place and trust me when I say that this place has overwhelmed all of my expectations. Cambridge is just unbelievable in a sense that this education city itself is so self-contained and reputable in its own capacity that it is a tourist attraction on its own. Because of that, the city is lined with all the top brand shops that you can think of. Gap, Marks & Spencers, Topshop, Clark and blah blah blah (ooi...free publicity ok!!)When the bus arrived at Drummer Street ( the place where I needed to stop), I asked the bus driver twice if that was last stop at Drummer Street, and he said yes. I did not believe it because the place was inundated with tourists and packed with crowds! Maybe my earlier impression of Cambridge was a quiet city with ancient buildings and students relaxing around the lawn with a book on their hands. But yah, that was the image I had of Cambridge since I was a kid and now that I get to come here and study, it's really living the dream of my childhood life. Obviously I must really thank the British Govt and Shell for making all these happen.

Talking about living childhood dreams. I was told by the College reps that some tourists were so into this "studying in Cambridge" experience that they pay 100pounds for a night at one of the colleges just to satisfy their curiosities. Don't be surprised by this outrageous claim. There are such people who come here and stay, take loads of photos, go home and tell the whole world they have lived the life of a Cambridge student. I was like..."what the #$%#...." hahahhaa...macam-macam ada....

My room is a decent place, even though I get a number 4 ;) It has an attached basin in the room. I really can't make any comparison with the Japanese rooms that I once stayed, but if I really must give any, I would say that it is about 5.5 tatami mat size around the same size as the IUJ rooms, just that it does not have an ensuite bathroom. The absent of the bathroom means a bigger space to move around or some of you may want to hear this.....enough place to stay if you come over for a holiday. I've asked and they are ok with visitors, as long as you do not come here and make a big fuss of things. It's really a nice place to stay...trust me when I say that.

Cambridge gives you a feel of what the famous people (who have studied here) experienced before. People like Hawkings, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin are the respected figures of Cambridge. I am sure the rest of the world too. Even taking a stroll around the campus and knowing the background history of some places humbles us alot as a human person, suddenly when you are aware that Newton's Laws were founded in this and that place, or that Darwin's theory of evolution was conceived around the grounds of this or that college. It is awe-inspiring too.

The magnificent neo-Gothic and Gothic buildings of the colleges in Cambridge are really beautiful and splendid. It throws you into a "Harry Potter" scene just as you reach the colleges, especially the older ones. River Cam is also a lovely sight where you could just sit by the banks of the river to get inspirations.

Just today, I visited the University's Fitzwilliam Museum. It was just unbelievable. I never expected myself to stand in front of 3 Pablo Picasso drawings and 3 Leonardo Da Vinci sketches, looking at them. That was not all, there were also thousands of ancient sculptures, drawings and scrolls that are housed in this museum. I went to the British Museum in London before and I think that Fitzwilliam managed to capture my interest more. Yes, the Fitzwilliam is really a cool place. If not for their "no camera" restrictions, I would have taken all the photos and put it up here.