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A dash of London and a serving of Leeds

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  • mr_botak
    replied
    Ah yes the damned football question - the consternation generated by the response 'actually I don't watch football' is always fun.

    Leave a comment:


  • kapitan
    replied
    Originally posted by craig777 View Post
    This is amusing to read. It shows how naive we can all be about other nationalities. I am English and have been living in Singapore for 6 years. These are the questions I am always being asked. They are all said with such a shocked tone:

    1 - You know how to eat curry? (Particularly amusing for an Englishman given the UK's most popular dish)

    2 - You can take spicy food?

    3 - You can use chopsticks?

    I guess we can all be guilty of ignorance sometimes.

    Good luck with your studies Isaac!
    One of the most common to an English man will be "Which football club u support?"

    Leave a comment:


  • craig777
    replied
    Originally Posted by phaleesy

    Yes, I am also from China and I speak good English for a Chinese. Which part of China is Singapore again?
    This is amusing to read. It shows how naive we can all be about other nationalities. I am English and have been living in Singapore for 6 years. These are the questions I am always being asked. They are all said with such a shocked tone:

    1 - You know how to eat curry? (Particularly amusing for an Englishman given the UK's most popular dish)

    2 - You can take spicy food?

    3 - You can use chopsticks?

    I guess we can all be guilty of ignorance sometimes.

    Good luck with your studies Isaac!

    Leave a comment:


  • kaysquare
    replied
    Just missed you isaac. I flew SINLHR on 11 Sep.

    Speed limit on M1 is 70 unposted. Some stretches especially closer to London would have been 50 due to construction works. Due to an accident, all traffic was diverted out of the M1 North from J8 to J9 (or was it J9 to J10?) Good thing I had satnav and the police officers were really friendly when diverting traffic, giving instructions on how to join the M1 again.

    Study hard in Leeds, but don't forget to play hard too.

    Leave a comment:


  • hsf
    replied
    Thanks for the report, and good luck in your studies.

    Leave a comment:


  • prash
    replied
    i second that..it's difficult if there are delays. i took the same flight in January and it departed SIN late by about 50 min and then by the time I got to King's Cross after baggage, tube etc, it was after 1800 hrs...i think about 1815-1830. so then i was glad that i had played safe and booked train for 1925 hrs.

    Plenty of coffee places to chill and there is free wi-fi at King's Cross/St Pancras so the wait is not too bad.

    Having said that, some of my friends have managed to get train conductors to allow them to take the later train just by explaining that their flight was delayed but better don't take the chance if it is your first time!

    Leave a comment:


  • eriond
    replied
    Originally posted by jhm View Post
    It takes at best an hour by tube from LHR to King's Cross and then you have to go up to the station and find your train etc. This means that you should be sat on the tube around 16:30 and hope that there are no tube problems. This timing does not seem feasible given a STA of 15:30, possible delays, immigration, delays in getting your luggage etc.
    Noted thanks. I will book the 7.18pm train and hope for the best then.

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  • jhm
    replied
    Originally posted by eriond View Post
    It will be my first time flying into LHR on SQ308 with a STA of 1530.

    My flight will be on a Wednesday; any of the regulars know if I would have enough time to pass immigration (no IRIS), collect baggage, hop on the Picadilly Line and reach King's Cross Rail Station in time to catch a 1800 train?

    I'm intending to buy an Advance ticket so it's non-flexi. The other option will be the 1918 train.
    It takes at best an hour by tube from LHR to King's Cross and then you have to go up to the station and find your train etc. This means that you should be sat on the tube around 16:30 and hope that there are no tube problems. This timing does not seem feasible given a STA of 15:30, possible delays, immigration, delays in getting your luggage etc.

    Leave a comment:


  • eriond
    replied
    It will be my first time flying into LHR on SQ308 with a STA of 1530.

    My flight will be on a Wednesday; any of the regulars know if I would have enough time to pass immigration (no IRIS), collect baggage, hop on the Picadilly Line and reach King's Cross Rail Station in time to catch a 1800 train?

    I'm intending to buy an Advance ticket so it's non-flexi. The other option will be the 1918 train.

    Leave a comment:


  • CarbonMan
    replied
    Originally posted by jhm View Post
    I think it may be the case that the cold water comes directly from the water main supply whilst the hot water is heated up in a boiler and then sits inside a hot water tank until used. There might be gunk inside the hot water tank and hence why it's cloudy.
    Hmmm, sometimes this may be due to very tiny air bubbles in the water which makes the water appear cloudy. Just stand the water for awhile, and the cloudiness should disappear quite quickly if it it's due to air bubbles. If it doesn't, then I wouldn't drink the stuff.

    Leave a comment:


  • jhm
    replied
    Originally posted by isaac View Post
    About the water here... Sometimes when I turn on the hot water tap, it's cloudy Any reason why?
    I think it may be the case that the cold water comes directly from the water main supply whilst the hot water is heated up in a boiler and then sits inside a hot water tank until used. There might be gunk inside the hot water tank and hence why it's cloudy.

    Leave a comment:


  • prash
    replied
    Originally posted by isaac View Post
    us Singaporeans and Malaysians (we are culturally homogeneous- I met a Malaysian the other day and mistook him for a Singaporean, our accents are too similar )
    yea the singaporeans and malaysians in the UK get along pretty well!

    For me, it's lots more malaysians in nottingham than singaporeans (i'm final yr now). gonna miss notts after next year. i might get slammed but the UK's quite special- at least to us students though i'm sure they want us out after the degree

    thanks for the trip report! brought back memories of my 1st trip over too! hope you're well settled....and your fellow singaporeans are friendly! best of luck!

    ps: despite what some students will say, the water from the tap is fine man. i find any cloudiness goes away after you let the tap run awhile.

    Leave a comment:


  • Kyo
    replied
    Bandwidth exceeded! Re-host? TR sounds interesting so far...

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  • isaac
    replied
    Originally posted by phaleesy View Post
    Welcome to the UK!

    I'm sure you'd enjoy your stay here. Rolling green green fields and countryside, beautiful coastlines, various peaks , stately homes, wildlife sanctuaries, museums, plays, ballet, opera, galleries, lots lots lots....

    Unfortunately there's also the downside... the scum whom you've just described. Wait till you get into the NHS hospitals, then you'd see these scumbags going to A&E for freebies (paracetamol and lactulose?!!!).

    I tend to steer clear of council estates and choose not to work in certain cities, so life is not such an eye-sore for me.

    Yes, I am also from China and I speak good English for a Chinese. Which part of China is Singapore again?

    I don't know about Leeds but I find that as long as you're not in London, you might find you're the only Singaporean or the very few Chinese or ethnic minority around. So it is very important to integrate and make new friends outside your "Singapore" circle.

    I had a friend who was in Leeds for two years, then got a place in NUS in the third year.

    The M1 is 70mph. The bus should be travelling at 60 mph. Sections of the M1 currently undergoing roadworks 50 mph.
    actually you'd be surprised there's quite a large community of Chinese-race people in Leeds, comprising those BBC's (British Born Chinese-who mostly hail from Hong Kong), us Singaporeans and Malaysians (we are culturally homogeneous- I met a Malaysian the other day and mistook him for a Singaporean, our accents are too similar ) , and of course the PRC Chinese.

    I haven't seen any council estates; are they very much similar to the inner city projects in New York or say Chicago?

    Leave a comment:


  • phaleesy
    replied
    Originally posted by isaac View Post
    Leeds is a small city of around 800,000 people. I have to admit I was in for abit of culture shock over here. There's quite abit of implicit racism, ignorant people who ask which part of China Singapore is in, people commenting that I speak good English for a Chinese person. Besides that, there are the little little things that take adjusting to. e.g, not all washrooms are foc. you pay 30p per entry to a toilet. Which I have already developed a habit of looking for any foc toilets and relieving myself even if I'm not too urgent whenever I come across them (in uni, mcdonalds, Marks and Spencer etc), Groceries have to be packed by yourself in supermarkets, having alot of coins is the norm here, the cold weather. Banks are inefficient, 50 pound notes are thoroughly checked whenever one uses them. I also notice that there are alot of young mothers here. I suspect it has to do with the fact that the government fully subsidises O&G services and gives subsidies to mothers. The people here also drink alot, smoke alot and many have tattoos. Unusual for someone from prim and proper Singapore. Or maybe I'm just ignorant as well.
    Welcome to the UK!

    I'm sure you'd enjoy your stay here. Rolling green green fields and countryside, beautiful coastlines, various peaks , stately homes, wildlife sanctuaries, museums, plays, ballet, opera, galleries, lots lots lots....

    Unfortunately there's also the downside... the scum whom you've just described. Wait till you get into the NHS hospitals, then you'd see these scumbags going to A&E for freebies (paracetamol and lactulose?!!!).

    I tend to steer clear of council estates and choose not to work in certain cities, so life is not such an eye-sore for me.

    Yes, I am also from China and I speak good English for a Chinese. Which part of China is Singapore again?

    I don't know about Leeds but I find that as long as you're not in London, you might find you're the only Singaporean or the very few Chinese or ethnic minority around. So it is very important to integrate and make new friends outside your "Singapore" circle.

    I had a friend who was in Leeds for two years, then got a place in NUS in the third year.

    The M1 is 70mph. The bus should be travelling at 60 mph. Sections of the M1 currently undergoing roadworks 50 mph.

    Leave a comment:

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