To all that came down to send me off – Thank you. With all my heart.
22/04/08 Tuesday
London Time: 10.12am
Singapore Time: 5.12pm
Alrighto, here’s my first update to a life in the U.K:
Well I’m currently in my room in The Manor Hotel, Chellaston, Derby. There’s no internet connection here so I’m kinda typing this and posting this once I move into a new place with internet connection.
Trust me, if you’re a Singaporean, alone abroad, an internet connection is what you really need. I’m going mad right now cause I can’t be connected to my friends abroad and calling back home isn’t cheap at all. And I’ve got absolutely nothing to do. Well, I’ve got a SIM card here which is gonna cost me 5pence/min to call back to Singapore, but that discounted rate won’t be in effect till they send me a message saying that it is.
I wish they told me that when I bought it. Cause I thought it was 5p/min immediately once I got the SIM card. Cause I didn’t know that and happily topped up 10 pounds into my SIM card, started calling home and chatted for around 7 mins? Then I checked my account again. I’m left with 3 pounds in the card. That was a real f-king shock. So if you do the math, it cost me 1 pound/min. Which is like, f-king S$3/min??? Only consoling thing is that it cost slightly cheaper to call back using this new SIM card than my Starhub one, which costs S$3.50 to call back.
So now I’m just waiting for the message to tell me that my SIM card has been activated for cheaper overseas calls.
Alrights. I’m just gonna start talking about my friggin-ass long trip here.
So… Well after I said good bye to my loved ones and friends that sent me off, I turned around to have one last look at them for the next 4 months. It was kinda emotional to be honest, cause it was really heart warming to see the people you care and love waving goodbye to you. If you have the chance to experience that, you should.
Then I started looking around for the gate where I’m supposed to go for my flight. Wasn’t too hard cause the signs leading there were quite clear. But the queue at the gate was really long. So I went and joined the queue, wasn’t really much of a surprise when I looked around and saw that most of the people queuing were Ang Mohs. Then I realized that this was how it was gonna be in the U.K. No more little Asian people around and just mostly big white Ang Mohs.
So I went in the gate and had to put my backpack through the scanning machine and was told to take out my laptop. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know. Maybe they thought laptops could be bombs or something like that? Then when my backpack came through the machine, the security personal asked me this “you have a small foldable scissors in your bag?”
“yea I do” I replied.
Then I realized that it was not allowed to have a scissors in your bag on an airplane. So I apologized and took out the scissors from my pencil case and gave it to the person. It was kinda embarrassing but I didn’t really care cause no one there was gonna recognize me or remember me. I guess that’s the only perk being abroad alone, telling yourself that no one’s gonna remember or care who you are.
So I got into the waiting area to board the plane, and found a seat right at the end. When I sat down, all the nervous-ness and fear started to sink in. I was gonna be alone. All alone in a land far away for the next 4 months. You’ll never want to have that feeling inside you. It just kills all excitement for the trip ahead.
The time to board had finally come, I picked up my backpack and walked in to the plane. This was when it got really embarrassing. My seat was in the second seat of a 4 seater in the middle of the plane. I opened up the top compartment where we were supposed to put in our bags, and it was full. And as I was standing there figuring out what to do, there was a line forming behind me. So I took my bag and said sorry to the people queuing behind me and walked in to the area behind where the toilets were. And waited.
When most people were settled down in their seats, I got the attention of the flight attendant and he helped me put my bag in a compartment a few seats in front of mine. Then I got into my seat which an young Ang Moh who looked around my age had to get up and let me in. Well I don’t know if she was my age but she looked that. And she was tall. And slightly plump. So this lady was to my left. And to my right was an older Ang Moh lady. She looked like she was in her 50s? Well I can’t really tell how old are they.
So the flight took off and began my 13 hour journey.
The journey was… Not enjoyable? Well its mostly because every time I needed to pee, I had to ask the lady on my left to get up and let me through. Which wasn’t very nice cause she was sleeping most of the time on the flight. I talked to the lady on my right and found out that she was an Italian and was going back to Italy as she lives there. She was on a flight back from Australia and had to take another flight in London to Italy. She told me it took at least 36 hours in total from Australia to Italy due to all the transit flights. And she has 2 sons who were aged 28 and 32. One was taking his PHD and the other was taking his pilot’s license. Lucky her.
So I spent most of the time watching shows on the in flight entertainment system and trying to sleep. I watched a stand up comedy and “27 Dresses”. And 13 hours, 11000km later, I reached Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, London at 5.30 London time.
I got off the plane and took my backpack after most of the people got off and made my way to the immigration authorites and had my passport stamped and work permit stamped as well. Then I walked to the baggage reclaim belt to reclaim my other 17.5kg bag. So I lugged it along and walked to the London Underground Tube. All alone.
The Underground was at one end of the airport and getting to there wasn’t too much of a problem. Cause there wasn’t much people there at 6.20am anyways. So I got a ticket for 4 pounds from the ticket machine and thankfully I didn’t have to wait cause the train was already there. Just for your information, the Underground’s something like Singapore’s MRT. But the MRT is so much better. The Underground’s trains are quite… old? And its not as clean as Singapore’s. I’m beginning to appreciate Singapore more and more.
So I took the Underground to King’s Cross St Pancras Station, which was around an hour’s journey. At 7.25am, I arrived at King’s Cross St Pancras. I got out of the Underground train and started making my way to the East Midlands train service. It was tough to look around for the right way cause there were no signs that said “East Midlands Train Service”. So I just followed the crowd and asked around.
It was freezing when I was making my way to the train station. Well. Only the uncovered areas of my body was freezing. Basically, my head and hands. So I got out my beanie, gloves and scarf and put them on. I’d like to thank my mom for that.
St Pancras Train Station
After getting the ticket (which cost me a shocking 70.5 pounds) from the ticket counter, it was already close to 8am and the train leaves at 8am. So I got on the train and managed to get in just before the door shut. Inside the carriage, I had to get past a sliding door, with a small round protruding sign that showed 2 arrows in opposite direction that was lit up with neon bulbs, which I had no idea how to open. Cause there was this handle there and when I tried to push and slide it open, it opened up slightly and slid shut again. So I stood there like a dumbass trying to figure out how the hell to get it open. Then I noticed that the sign is actually a button. Pressing it allowed the door to slide open automatically. So I got in and took the seat closest to the door while placing my luggage beside me.
Interior of the East Midlands Train
The stupid sliding door.
The train from St Pancras to Derby took me another 2 hours. When I reached Derby station, it was 10am. It was kinda run down for a train station, with the walls all grafit-ed, looking really old and used. I got into a convenience store in the station and looked around for mineral water. Wow, the water here was expensive. I bought a 1 litre bottle for 1.59 pounds cause I was already dying from thirst since I haven’t drank anything since the plane landed. So as I approached the counter I asked if they sold the pre-paid SIM card. The young guy at the counter said no and told me that if I wanted to get it I had to get into the city.
Then I stepped out onto the street and got into a cab. The cab was really cute, different from what you’d normally see in Singapore. Its beetle-looking, and yellow. The interior is quite large though. But the cab was really old and not comfortable at all. But the cab driver was a nice guy.
In the cab, I looked around the area where the cab was heading and it was, disappointing for me I guess? Cause I’m more of a city boy that was used to clusters of tall apartment buildings, and well, you know, the way Singapore is. This part of Derby was quiet. A few shophouses along the road, residential houses scattered here and there. I felt really out of place and wondered how in the world am I supposed to survive here for the next 4 months.
Inside the cab
The cab driver drove me to the place where I’ll be staying, The Manor Hotel, Chellaston, Derby. In my mind I was imagining a slightly large building with a reception counter where I can check in and stuff like that. Well basically what you’d expect from a hotel. But when the cab turned in to a small corner, drove in to “school lane”, I was wondering if the driver had made a mistake. Then there was this sign on a low brick wall beside a creaky old metal gate that’s quite small. I got out of the taxi and paid my fare of 8.40 pounds. The driver gave me a hand written receipt with his number on it and told me to call him if I needed a cab.
Not impressed by the front of the hotel, which isn’t really a hotel in my Singaporean mindset. It was like a large bungalow with a front lawn. Not knowing what to expect I approached the front door and knocked. It was a really old door that looked like it was from the middle ages.
“knock knock”
“knock knock”
No one came. So I looked in through the window and was quite surprised to find that the house was quite… nice? It was very well furnished. I mean its nothing like what you’d see in a Singapore house. It was beautiful. And since no one came to answer the door, I took my phone out and dialed the number of the owner of The Manor.
“Mrs Mary Fowkes?” I asked.
“Hello?” The voice of an old lady.
“ Oh I’m Jonas and I’m supposed to check in today? I’m at your front door.”
“Ah alright, love, why don’t you come on in?”
“ I can’t, it seems to be locked.”
“Oh alright I’ll be out in a minute, love.”
So I waited. Then a really old lady, wrinkled with a kind face and looked like she in her 70s or 80s, walked to the door and opened it. I smiled to her and said that I was here to check in, and I was from Rolls Royce. She told me to come in and as I lugged my luggage in, I looked around and found that the place was beautiful. Carpeted floor, nice furnishing, comfortable couches, frames of photos and portraits hanging on the walls. It was unbelievably beautiful compared to the exterior of the place.
“ Do you like dogs?” She asked.
Wondering why she’d ask that, I said I was alright with dogs. So she went off to a room and opened it and a slightly large dog came lumbering out. It was white with brown patches. I think it’s a cockerel spaniel. But I don’t have much knowledge about the breed of dogs so that’s my guess. But Mrs Mary called it Dennis.
She showed me to my room which had me climbing a stair up to the second level and turning into a walk way with a lot of doors. As she led me to the door on the left, I opened it. As with the rest of the house, it was a beautiful place. It was nothing I would expect from a hotel. Well. Basic stuff like a microwave oven, tv and bed were there. Then there was a shower room. It wasn’t exactly a room. Its like a small square area at one corner that’s made of 2 sliding glass doors. So there was no privacy what-so-ever from the entire room. So if you wanted to bathe, you gotta lock the room door. Apart from all these, there was a kettle, a sink, a fire place and 2 couches. The place looked wonderful. 
Mrs Mary taught me how to set up the fire place. It wasn’t the charcoal wood type that used the burning of wood to produce the heat. It was a modern one that used gas and an ignition to light up the fire. Once I got the hang of how to operate it, she told me to settle down and come downstairs to talk to her if I had any questions. I had loads of them.
As I put down my stuff on one of the couches and realized that I had to use the toilet. Thankfully Mrs Mary told me before she left the room that the toilet was just outside the room. So I went out of the room and headed for the toilet which was… 5 steps away? Then I realized that this was a common toilet. It was a tiny room with just a toilet bowl. No sink or mirror. But it was nicely decorated.
I got back to my room and took out my note book and a pen and went downstairs. I had to know everything. But first of all I needed to know where I could get a SIM card. Cause it’s damn expensive to call back to Singapore using my StarHub SIM card.
I headed downstairs and knocked on the door where Mrs Mary was at. She told me to come in and sit down on a couch. The room had a small LCD tv, with 3 couches, and again, the place was wonderfully furnished and decorated. So I sat down and she told me that she worked for Rolls Royce and have been doing lodging for interns for over 20 years. I asked if there were any other interns staying here, cause I didn’t see anyone else around, and she said none at the moment. So I thought to myself, I’m gonna be the only one staying here for this week?? That was a scary thought.
She filled me in on information about places to go around here and what buses to take to get into Derby. That was weird, I thought I was in Derby. She then explained that I’m actually in a village called Chellaston and Derby was like the city for the area. Then I asked about the SIM card. She told me that I could get one from the nearby shop-houses like Tesco or the Post Office. But she told me it was a good idea to go in to Derby, Westfield shopping center, to look around at phone shops such as Virgin mobile, Orange and places like that to find out the best deals. Then after all that was told, she gave a call to Erica Tyson, the person that I was in contact with from Rolls Royce and informed her that I had arrived in Derby. I was then told to go for a drug and alcohol test when I got an appointment. And that I was supposed to start work only on next Monday. That was quite disappointing as I wanted to be able to start work as soon as possible to get my mind off being home-sick. She also told me that she was heading down to the hospital for a few jabs and would be back at around 4.00pm.
So I got back up to my room and get my stuff and put on my jacket that I wore from the airport till here and headed out. When I got out it was freezing. So I put on my beanie and my gloves and started walking down the lane. As I walked down and looked around, the same feeling of dread returned to me cause it wasn’t really Singapore? I’m really a city person. I can’t picture myself living in quiet areas like this. Especially for the next 4 months. How was I going to survive!!
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Walking down the lane I saw a couple of shop houses, among them was a hair dresser, a Chinese take-away restaurant, a place that sells alcohol and a couple of other shop houses that I didn’t bother about. Then I walked past a really old church. It was the vintage looking type with reddish brown bricks and a clock at the top of a tower.
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As I continued walking down the lane, I still freezing. Wondering if it would be warmer inside a shop, I turned into a supermarket to walk around. Inside was blissfully warm. Well it isn’t exactly warm that you’d feel hot. It was at a temperature of a normal shopping center in Singapore, maybe just a tad warmer. Walking around the super market, I looked at the prices of the stuff around and was actually quite expensive if you’d convert it to Singapore dollars.
However, if you’d consider that your living here and working here, the stuff aren’t exactly too expensive. I don’t know how to put this across. But yea. Lets just say. A loaf of bread costs around 0.80 pounds to 1 pound? That’s expensive if you convert that to Singapore dollars and compare it to a loaf in Singapore right? But you gotta think that if your working in the U.K, it wouldn’t be too expensive then. It was actually cheap stuff if you think about it. Cause lets say I earn around 1.2k pounds right? And that was a really low income for someone living in U.K, basically it’s like a part time job pay. So if earned 1.2k Sing from a part time job in Singapore, I’d still have to pay S$1 for a loaf of bread. Which wasn’t actually too expensive. So if you are actually living and working in the U.K, most of the stuff here aren’t exactly expensive. Does it all make sense? I hope it does.
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As I walked further down and out to the main street and the bus stop, I was already freezing my ass off. Deciding that it was too cold to wait for the bus, I walked back up the street, heading back to The Manor Hotel.
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As I got back, I told Mrs Mary that it was too cold to travel wearing only that one jacket. So I went back up and took off the jacket and tee shirt that I wore from the airport, and put on a long sleeve tee that my mom calls a ‘Long John’, and a woven long sleeve sweater and a sleeveless jacket. I was wearing 3 layers. I got my sling bag out of my luggage and put in my bottle of water and camera. I put back on my beanie and gloves and went out of The Manor Hotel, and walked back down the lane towards the bus stop.
Feeling much warmer than I did when I arrived at the bus stop, I waited there for the bus to come. I was told to take any bus as all of them headed towards the city in that direction. There was a sign board that had indications of how long the bus would take to arrive. And the earliest one said “ 5 “ minutes. A while later, the bus ‘60’ came. I got on the bus and, as I was told by Mrs Mary, I asked for a week pass that cost me 12 pounds. A pass was printed and the driver helped me stick it to a cardboard holder. Then I told him to let me know when we reached “The Spot”. A few others got on the bus as well and some of them showed a card to the driver and he just printed out a receipt for them. Others said the name of their destination and the paid the amount to the driver. It was very inefficient if you compared to Singapore where we use the EZ link card and just ‘tap’ on the reader when we board.
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As the bus moved on, I looked out and saw that most of the area was the same as to where was I was staying. A few clusters of shop houses by the main road and a few residential areas here and there. Being the city boy that I am, I felt dreadful that I was gonna be living in this area for the next 4 months.
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As the bus went along the area became more and more filled with shop houses. And soon when it turned at a bend, I saw a giant building that said Westfield. As the bus approached the bus stop, an old man that got on the bus at the same stop at I did, told me that I wanted to get to “The Spot” and this was it. So I thanked the man I got off the bus and looked around. The area was… busy. Cause it was like a shopping mall surrounded by shop houses here and there. It looked amazing. Feeling happier cause this resembled more of what I thought of the U.K than where I stayed. As I went in to the building I was told by Mrs Mary that there was a stand that had a digital directory. I went up and used it and it was really advanced. Basically you just had to type in the starting letters of which shop you’d wanna go and a map will be displayed. You can even press a tab that actually tells you how to walk from where you were. It’s a wonder where giant malls in Singapore don’t have such a system. It was real helpful.
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Westfield Shopping Mall was basically a 2 storey complex that had a shape of a ‘T’. Looking up at where I was, I saw an area that looks like a food court. Feeling really hungry cause I haven’t had a bite since 5.30am and it was around 12.30pm at that time. So I went up the escalator and went in to the food court. It’s huge for its size. But there aren’t many food varieties. Basically one stall took up a really large space. So there were around 10 food stalls? As I looked around I noticed that there was KFC right at the end as well. Since I was living on a tight budget I hunted around for the cheapest and healthiest choice there is. So I finally settled on a stall that sold sandwiches. Well its more of like ‘subway’ kinda place? Cause you’d basically just need to choose what sandwich you want and what kinda bread you’d like. So I ordered a Smoked Beef Sandwich. Which cost me 2.69 pounds. If you’d come to think of it again, it was expensive in Singapore dollars. But it was relatively affordable if you were someone from U.K. Cause if you compare to Singapore, you’d have to spend at least S$4.00 to S$6.00 at a food court in a shopping mall to get a decent meal.
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After I got my sandwich I sat down at an area alone. That was when I started feeling depressed again cause I was all alone. All alone. It was a really saddening thought. So I sat there silently eating my sandwich. It was pretty alright I guess? Cause there was beef, bread, vegetable, tomatoes. It was healthy I guess? When left with a quarter of the portion left I was already full. So I packed it up and stuffed it back into my bag and went to walk around. I walked back downstairs and looked around. The first mobile phone store I entered was Virgin Mobile. I stood at the counter waiting for someone to ask me what I needed. And finally a large African-British came and asked me if I was waiting to be served. So I told him I needed to call back to Singapore often and what they had to offer. He told me that I could get a Pay-as-you-go SIM card, which was basically a Prepaid SIM card. I asked him what the rate was calling back to Singapore, and he showed me a booklet that said it cost 20pence/min. Which if converted to Singapore dollars its S$0.60/min. Friggin expensive. So I said thank you and looked around. I went into another shop and asked and found that it cost 40pence/min. That was way too expensive. By that time I was already slowly accepting the fact that it was gonna be around that price to call back to Singapore.
Then I remembered that there was one more mobile phone store I haven’t checked out. Not knowing where it is, I walked back to the digital directory and typed in the letters “Orange”. Then a store name “Orange” popped out on the screen. I tapped on the name and a map appeared showing where the store was. Then I tapped on “How to get there”. A route was displayed and immediately I knew which direction to walk.
As I walked into Orange, a blonde young lady in her early 20s approached me and asked me if I needed assistance. I told her what I was looking for and she checked for me the price of calling back to Singapore. And then this was where I got really happy. Cause she told me that they had a Pay-as-you-go SIM card that would only cost me 5pence/min. Which was like. Damn cheap???? So I got it and topped up 10 pounds. So I started calling back to Singapore happily.
Then I remembered that Mrs Mary told me that I could have access to the internet free at the library. So I asked around and walked out of Westfield Shopping Center. Then I headed in the direction for the library as I asked around where it was. I went into one of the shophouses that sold baby clothes and asked where the bus terminal was cause Mrs Mary told me to head there and take bus 60 to get back to The Manor Hotel. The nice lady in the shop led me out and pointed me in the direction and I thanked her and walked in the direction. As I was walking out, a middle aged man with a grey-ing scruffy beard told me that I could take bus 60 from a busstop nearby to get back to Chellaston rather than walking all the way back to the bus terminal. What a nice guy.
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So as I walked to the library, I was expecting it to be some building like those you see in Singapore? Like the one at Jurong East. But I was surprised once again. The building was like a chuch, with a clock tower right on top. So I went in and it was really warm inside. I went up to the counter and asked if I could use the computers. The nice lady there who looked around my age told me that I could use it if I booked a time slot. I asked what was the closest available timing and she told me it was from 2.30pm and she could book for me for one hour the most. She was really helpful and nice! I mean compared to the nasty impolite old ladies at the libraries in Singapore. Since it was around 1.45pm, I decided to look around while I waited for 2.30pm to use the computer. There was no charge for using it by the way. So I sat down on a seat where and Indian girl that looked around my age was reading a book opposite me.
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Since I had nothing to do, I went and dialed the number to check the amount I left inside my SIM card.
“Your remaining credit is, 4 pounds and 81 pence”.
I was like. WHAT THE F-K! How in the world did I spend that much since I only made a few calls. So I tested it out. And I called for back Singapore for 1 min. Then I checked the remaining amount.
“Your remaining credit is, 3 pounds and 81 pence”.
WHAT! It cost me 1 pound per minute???? Unbelievable. I thought of going back to Orange and clarify why. But it was getting close to 2.30pm. So I decided to use the computer before I got back to Westfield.
When I got to the computer, it was a pretty old computer and the keyboard was terrible. I logged on to MSN ( thankfully they had it installed ), and chatted there while checking my emails. It was really warm where I was seated and it didn’t help that I was wearing so many layers. I took off my sleeveless jacket but it was still warm. So I decided to bear with it and continued chatting. It felt good to finally have contact with the world in Singapore. It was then I realized how important the internet was to modern day young people like me.
At 3.30pm I logged off and went out and started making my way back to Westfield. It was still freezing so I put back on my beanie, gloves and the sleeveless jacket. It was slightly more crowded than before along the streets of the city.
When I got back to Orange, the lady that sold me the SIM card was busy with other customers so I approached the counter and told an Indian lady there my problem. She said she’d check out for me and told me that the card has not been activated for overseas calls at a discounted rate. I was like what??? She told me that it takes at least 24 hours before that tariff would be activated. I asked her why I wasn’t told before hand and she said she was sorry and there was nothing she could do. So I topped up another 10 pounds into my card and left the store. Which meant I had already spent 20 pounds just for the phone. Which is around S$60!! That is f-king expensive.
It was getting to be around 4.15pm and I decided it was time to get back. So I went back to the food court and bought a Tuna sandwich for 2.50 pounds from the same stall I bought my lunch from and stuffed it in my bag with the quarter portion of my lunch.
I left the shopping center and waited at the bus stop. Soon bus 60 arrived and it was quite packed. But I managed to get a sit beside an African-British girl reading a book, who looked a few years younger than me. The journey back was quite long cause the bus went in several residential areas before arriving back at the Church where nearby The Manor Hotel was. The nice thing about people here is that they all area really friendly to one another. They’d say “cheers” to the bus driver when they get on or off the bus. And the bus driver would stop when pedestrians tried to cross the road even though they weren’t crossing at a traffic light. Of course the pedestrians would then wave a friendly gesture and smiles would be exchanged. It was a really friendly town.
As I walked back into The Manor Hotel, I entered and found that the door was never locked. And as I walked in Dennis, the Cockerel Spaniel, came strolling out of Mrs Mary room with a slipper in its mouth that was hers. I knew at that moment that she hasn’t come home yet from the hospital. So I went up to my room and put down my stuff. It was very quiet. Then the feeling of loneliness came to me again. So I turned on the TV for some noise and I took the quarter portion of the lunch and placed it in the microwave and heated it up. After eating the portion I placed my dinner beside the microwave, deciding that I’ll have it later.
It was around 5.30pm and I was already feeling really tired. So I decided to lie down on the bed for awhile. My door isn’t really locked and its just left ajar in case Mrs Mary came back and had to look for me. Then Dennis the dog came in by pushing the door with his head and with the slipper in his mouth. He came right by my bed and put his two front paws up onto the bed beside me where I was laying down.
“I don’t know where she is… Go out alrights I need to sleep…” I didn’t know why in the world did I just talk to a dog, but I did.
I led the dog out of the room and it went back downstairs. Heading back to my room, I went back to lie down on the bed and soon fell asleep.
I woke up at 12am.
And there was nothing to do.
So I played my PSP and took my bath and finally got to sleep again at around 4am.
I did some financial calculation on my status here. For the first day in U.K, I’ve already spent a total of around 120 pounds.
And woke up at around 6am and bummed around till 8am.
So there it is. Finally completed the first day in U.K. And many more days to come. I don’t think I have that much time to complete another 9 page report about my life just for one day.
Right now its actually Wednesday, April 23, 9.30am. I just had a wonderful breakfast spread made by Mrs Mary. I’m starting work on Monday.
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