Ah! I've had no time to write yesterday. Have been walking about around town, doing what I do best - shopping! Earlier in the day, we left my room and went walking towards the university. It would be a pretty long walk according to Singapore standards, but over here, it's considered a short walk! They walk a whole damn lot here, but they still have buses and taxis (tho' not many). Their buses only have one door near the front which serves as both the entrance and the exit!

The weather is pretty cold in the morning, you'll need to wear a jacket and all, and the scenery is very nice. You'll enjoy walking, like I did, in the beginning, but I think I'll get pretty tired of it soon. Some of th people you pass will greet you "Good Morning!". Nice and friendly.

I spent much of the day walking around looking for places. I know where the library is, the post office, the banks, the student union (they sell my favourite paperback classics for £1! It's S$4.02 in Singapore!) and some other university buildings. I also went to the Clarence Dock student residence. It's a pretty nice place. Reminds me of a condo-cum-chalet thing. There is a bus-stop just outside the gates (which require a swipe card to get through), but the residence is surrounded by what I think are factories and storage houses. Not the perfect environment. Next, we went to the city centre and had lunch at a place called "BHS" or "British Home Store" I think. Nice place, rather "Ikea-ish", but it sells clothes too, besides homeware. Much like a departmental store. It is in the Leeds Shopping Centre. I bought a blue beaded bracelet there. Pretty. Wanted to buy tons more, but I controlled myself (how shocking!).

Next, we walked (AGAIN!) down this road, rather wide, but cars are not allowed in I think. Shophouse, about 3 stories high, line both sides. There was one woman who was walking slowly down the street screaming at the top of her lings about the Lord and the Church and other religious stuff. It was very funny. It didn't look like anyone was listening to her! Her face was all red and she was waving her Bible around.

[Leeds city centre]

We came to Boots, a pharmacy, and I was awe-struck (sorta)! I've never seen one so huge or one that sold so many things before! It was amazing! There was a whole range of toiletries and they even sold branded perfumes! You can also find Elizabeth Arden, etc, make-up counters there. They even had really cute funky little girl type things with lotsa glitter. I was totally attracted to those! I bought shampoo, conditioner and body wash. My hair was all icky from the night before as I washed it with soap. Yuck! It felt like it was coated in cheese.

Well, we were pretty tired after that, it was also pretty warm. You could walk around in the things you wear in Singapore. There were a few people who dressed funny, wearing capes and tiaras. But no one seemed to laugh or point at them as I'm sure we would in Singapore.

I'm going off to continue my exploration of the city now. Let me tell you what I did last night in brief tho'. I met my flatmates, save one. 2 girls, both 'angmo', one's Brandy, the other Paula. I also went to the meeting for flat residents. Later my mum & I wanted to have Chinese food for dinner at "Lucky Dragon", but no taxis came, so we ended up eating really greasy, oil-soaked fish and chips, and Southern fried chicken take-away. Fortunately there was coke to flush it all down!

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