After trips to Belgium and Denmark, it was finally time to head back to London for the remainder of my month in Europe. Spending time with my family over there gave me some time to relax from the past 10 or so days of being on the road. The rest was sorely needed after the hectic few weeks of ending my internship, packing for the next few months and the relatively intense travel schedule. Although once I actually sat down to plan out the next two weeks in London, I realized how packed my schedule was going to be, not exactly a problem to have!
During my 1st semester of my 2nd year in College, I had the great fortune to meet a group of exchange students who became close friends of mine. It just so happened three of them (Janek, Maria and Raphaelle) lived in England and one (Britta) was coincidentally doing a trip across the Atlantic to London. Naturally, we picked Britta up from the airport (a successful surprise) and proceeded to have a long overdue in-person catch up over British pies and pints. While I was not able to spend the entire two weeks with them (and vice versa), stuff like visiting Cambridge (with Janek being an excellent host) and hanging at the famous Winter Wonderland became memories I treasured greatly. It was surreal to finally carry out plans we had talked about 6 months prior actually coming to fruition. Hanging out with them made me terribly miss their presence back in Singapore.
Another pleasant surprise was a group of local lads visiting London towards the tail end of December. These were close mates of mine from Singapore and it was pretty awesome hanging with them in one of my favourite cities. Most of them were at the tail end of their own exchange programs and were doing their final travels before heading back to Singapore. It was actually pretty fortunate our schedules lined up as I only found out a few days prior that they would be in London at all. When you combine the London nightlife with these lads, the evenings did not disappoint.
A big part of the weeks in London was my Aunty Sugi, who I found out a few months prior would be in the city with her family. Her NYE party was so incredibly fun that as time was passing I didn’t want 2020 to come because that would mean the night would end. Sublime whisky and champagne coupled with outstanding company made for a night to remember. One that was easily ranked in the top 5 NYEs I’ve ever had (if not the best). On top of this invitation, she invited me a game between Arsenal and Chelsea on the 29th of Dec. It’s been many years since I’ve been to an EPL game so I jumped at the chance to see such a huge London derby. In addition to the fact that it was a derby the tickets were BOX SEATS. She and her partner were so incredibly kind to give me such a hotly sought after spot (as I’m aware many people wanted to go as wel) and it did not disappoint. The exquisite seats, atmosphere, people and not to mention a great game of football made for a memorable afternoon. What a blessing indeed.
I would certainly be remiss to not give a shout-out to the usual suspects who I usually meet in London. The London side of my family is always a non-negotiable whenever I’m in town because they are always such a fun time. Case in point, I had set aside the afternoon on the 2nd of January to visit another aunt of mine (YES THERE ARE A FEW) as I had to pack to leave in the evening. However, despite saying I would leave around 5pm, it was so much fun (cousins from Singapore were coincidentally there too) that I ended up staying till 9.30pm. I don’t even regret that in the slightest, it’s always a good time with them. The same goes for the aunt and uncle I always stay with in London. It feels so at home I sometimes forget I’m in the UK.
Alas all good things come to an end but this time it was going from one adventure to another. My exchange in Pittsburgh beckons!
cities. Most of them were at the tail end of their own exchange programs and were doing their final travels before heading back to Singapore. It was actually pretty fortunate our schedules lined up as I only found out a few days prior that they would be in London at all. When you combine the London nightlife with these lads, the evenings did not disappoint.
Another big part of the weeks in London was my Aunty Sugi, who I found out a few months prior would be in the city with her family. Her NYE party was so incredibly fun that as time was passing I didn’t want 2020 to come because that would mean the night would end. Sublime whisky and champagne coupled with outstanding company made for a night to remember. One that was easily ranked in the top 5 NYEs I’ve ever had (if not the best). On top of this invitation, she invited me a game between Arsenal and Chelsea on the 29th of Dec. It’s been many years since I’ve been to an EPL game so I jumped at the chance to see such a huge London derby. In addition to the fact that it was a derby the tickets were BOX SEATS. She and her partner were so incredibly kind to give me such a hotly sought after spot (as I’m aware many people wanted to go as wel) and it did not disappoint. The exquisite seats, atmosphere, people and not to mention a great game of football made for a memorable afternoon. What a blessing indeed.
I would certainly be remiss to not give a shout-out to the usual suspects who I usually meet in London. The London side of my family is always a non-negotiable whenever I’m in town because they are always such a fun time. Case in point, I had set aside the afternoon on the 2nd of January to visit another aunt of mine (YES THERE ARE A FEW) as I had to pack to leave in the evening. However, despite saying I would leave around 5pm, it was so much fun (cousins from Singapore were coincidentally there too) that I ended up staying till 9.30pm. I don’t even regret that in the slightest, it’s always a good time with them. The same goes for the aunt and uncle I always stay with in London. It feels so at home I sometimes forget I’m in the UK.
Alas all good things come to an end but this time it was going from one adventure to another. My exchange in Pittsburgh beckons!
Batmar :) 
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