London Zoo

So after much discussion with the guys about what we should do over last weekend, we finally decided it was a good idea to pay a visit to London Zoo! Easy choice it was, considering there were not many good ones for the 2-for-1 promotion in this bright summer-ish season in London.

There were a lot of fuss before actually reaching the zoo itself. Although choosing to go to the zoo was easy, there were a lot of fine prints we had to go through before actually qualifying ourselves for the cheap fare. Anyway, we got it in the end after much confusion.

The London Zoo

To be honest, the zoo was just alright. Not super impressive really. Somehow the animals were very lazy! We had such a hard time spotting them - either in the shade or within the bushes. Most of them were already sleeping by 2pm. I have to say that we saw a lot of the animals' backside!

Personally, I have been to reknowned zoos like the Singapore Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Zoo. I would definitely rate them higher than the one here in London. Singapore Zoo is simply larger, and the layout is generally more impressive and the animals were more active. I don't know if this is to do with the British weather.

Taronga Zoo, on the other hand, is a very unique one. Getting there by ferry with the view of the famous Opera House and The Harbour Bridge makes the entire trip very relaxing. The fact that the zoo is on a separate island makes it all very special.

Nevertheless, it was a good day out with the blokes and Sarah. We ended the day with a Szechuan dinner at The Old Place near Liverpool Street station. I still very much enjoy the aurbegine dish there.

Officially 4th Year!

The major 3rd year exam results finally got released today. You can't imagine how nervous I was when my friend sitting next to me in our Cardiology lecture received a text saying that results were already posted on the wall! My concoction of Co-codamol and Diclofenac for my recent tennis injury didn't help either - makes me sick =(

Anyway, suspense over. I passed :) And what makes me happy is I passed all my OSCE stations. That matters to me. And my big SSM project: I scored Excellent. That makes me a happy bunny =D

I'm officially a 4th year medical student now, although chronologically still 3rd year.

However, this is only 25% of the lot done. No complacency just yet. I need to work hard for the rest of the 75% coming up next year!

Sunday at Greenwich

I first realise that Greenwich is in London when good old buddy Azrul told me he wanted to go there when he was down here a few months ago. Nonetheless, we didn't end up going that time as it was too far away from the central for his short trip down to London.

Coincidentally, a week ago, our dear German friends invited us to head to the world-reknowned time line. Years of Geography lessons back in primary and secondary schools; I finally meet the line which divide the time zones of the world. Imagine the queue for the actual monument! We didn't bother to join in. Instead, we took a group photo by the queue and the monument itself.


To be honest, there was nothing really spectacular about the time line. It does have a significant function in the world though.


We had a great day out after all. The boat ride along River Thames towards Greenwich was scenic, and we had a good stroll around the Greenwich Market. The town on its own is worth visiting. It's got a good mix of the old and the new. Apparently, some of the areas are used for filming.


Another fun day out in London. More discoveries to come :)

Flat Outing

It's been 2 terms and a bit more, and finally the 6 flatties of Block C have come together for a meal in Chinatown. We have been planning this since the beginning of the academic year, but as all of us do different courses and have different commitments in life, it has been hard to get all 6 of us out together, let alone all the 6 of us all in the kitchen. It does happen occasionally, and when it does, it has always been lots of fun.

I am very happy this outing was a great success :)

We decided to give the Taiwanese restaurant Leong's Legends in Chinatown a try. I have personally frequented the restaurant a few times and I do enjoy the food there. In a way, it is similar to grandma's cooking. I was pleased that my British flatmates find the food amusing too. A good start for those who are planning to pay me a visit back home this summer. Can't wait for that!


After dinner, we ventured into an oriental store in Chinatown. Such a good way to learn more about Chinese food by browsing through what they sell there. We then headed for a couple of cocktails in a nearby bar to end the night and to shade ourselves from the English rain.


As Lisa would say, "Love it!". It's been awesome living with these 5 chaps. Looking forward to more flat outings and I do hope we will meet up when we separate at the end of this term

George's win!

Today was good. We won overall against Imperial College in the University Hospitals tennis tournament =D

I almost forgot how it feels to play a match after not playing properly for such a long time. Will slowly get myself back in shape and regain the touch.

Let's win more!

George's Salcombe Tennis Tour

Just got back from Salcombe for George's first ever tennis tour. It was a great weekend for everyone to gather and get to know each other better, and more so, have a good laugh and just chill.

Salcombe is tucked in Southwest England and is one of the most beautiful place I have been to so far. Apparently, it is quite a popular holiday destination where tourists, both local and international, flock to the beach in summer. The team managed to go when there were not too many people in town.

It would be such a pain to get to Salcombe if we needed to take the train and bus. But thanks to George's mini-bus and Sarah (the vice-captain and driver), we could get there directly - through the small roads, and up and down the hills in the countryside. Joe's mum was extremely generous to allow us to crash her holiday home. It was huge and we woke up everyday to the scenic estuary in Salcombe. Such an awesome retirement place.



So we headed to check out the beach on the sunny Saturday morning and played a game of frisby. Managed to tire ourselves out and got all sandy and wet! But it was great fun.


Then we had some tennis with the folks from the Salcombe Tennis Club. We played on synthetic grass courts, which made me feel at home. While playing tennis, there was the view of the green grassland and hills...and to make things even better, we had BBQ as well.


There was of course the team's pub crawl in Salcombe. Lots of drinking. All I can say is that I downed a pint of lager...and more. And my repertoire of drinking games has certainly increased after this trip. There was an epic throwing of captain Joe into the river. Hilarious!

One thing I must say is that the seafood here is awesome! So fresh that whatever you make out of them, they were simply delicious. A dinner of seafood pasta in cream sauce and some white wine. Yum!

Will definitely come back here for a cottage holiday, if not somewhere similar along the coast. Lie stress-free in the sun, by the beach. Owhhh...

New term, new aspirations

It's been 4 days since the term started. I'm on my Cardiology firm now. Many have told me to see it as a Cardioholiday. I can see why though; there seems like there's not much scheduled, and no one's actually following our progress at all.

But I have been inspired by Dr P's concept of adult learning, something which I should adopt from this term onwards. Before coming into the firm, I thought I know something about Cardiology. After attending today's clinic on Inherited Heart Diseases though, I figured out that I know nothing! Almost all patients were diagnosed with diseases I have not come across yet like Brugada Syndrome. I obviously need to read up and start working.

I'm yet to blog about my awesome week break after exams. The Denmark trip to Aarhus and Copenhagen was amazing! And after that, Chun, Hsien and I went down to Southampton to visit the Soton girls. We had so much fun. Well at least for me, I had lots of laughters whilst catching up with the girls. Lots of happy food too. Fun times :)

Tomorrow, I'll be off to Exeter for the Southwest England tennis tour with SGUL. Looking forward to it!

I shall blog on my trips once I'm back to London again.

x