Singapore GP Friday Practice!

Hey everyone!

Had an amazing evening last night - yes it was only the practice but it was still really good! I got there around 3pm to watch the Formula BMW practices and the Aston Martin Asia Cup practice. They both have qualifying tonight too! Last night I just sat and had a subway on my grandstand (Bay grandstand) and I witnessed Grosjean stuffing it into the wall right in front of me! I then had a walk around the 'walkabout' area and listen to a band called Ozomatli which were actually quite good to listen to and then had a few Tiger beers and explored to see where I could get a close up and I found an area where I could get right up to the fence! I am thinking I might go and walk around for the practice this evening and then go to my stand for the qualifying! I didn't leave until about midnight last night. Practice is at 7pm and the qualifying is at 10pm tonight! Should be another good night!

However, I was so tired from the flight etc that I actually fell asleep on my laptop last night while uploading the  pictures!

Anyway - speak soon! Hope you will all be watching the qualifying!

Brisbane Day 6/7

Hi everyone!

Couldn't blog yesterday... disaster! We headed down on the train to Surfer's Paradise yesterday on the Gold Coast, however to our surprise it was soon engulfed by a red dust cloud... you may have seen it on the news, but it is said to be the worst dust cloud in 40 years to hit the coast. According to the news it is red outback soil being blown by the high winds towards the coast... good day for the beach when the sun is blocked! Got some good photos of it though! We had to come back early but was good to witness that!

Today is my last day in Brisbane, I am off for a hair cut and then the botanic gardens before heading to the airport. Bit annoying that the last train goes to the airport at abpout 7.40pm brisbane time, when my check in isn't until about 23:15 - I guess I will just sit and do some work - better than paying a 45 dollars for the taxi again!

Anyway - that's all for now! I will maybe blog in the airport later if I can get on the internet, if not speak to you all when I am back 'home' in Singapore!

Speak soon!

Brisbane Day 5!

Hey Everyone! Hope you are all well!

I have been whale watching today just off Moreton Island! It was amazing! I got a courtesy bus from the centre of Brisbane out to the boat about half hour away and then we boarded for morning tea and cake! We then travelled out to sea for about an hour and then we saw the whales! It really was good! Pictures are pretty poor though since you can't exactly to tell them to pose in certain positions when you want them to - so when they do you are not prepared, but I got a few! We then had a buffet lunch - beef, chicken legs, salad etc. contrast to what I have had in Singapore! While we were eating the whales were rolling over etc out of the windows :)

Then we headed around Moreton Island for a viewing of the wrecks that have been put there as an artifical reef! We saw a few turles around there! Looks like a very nice beach out there and you can also snorkel the wrecks if you want to!

When I got back to Brisbane I just took a walk along the south bank to have an ice cream which was nice and refreshing after the day! However, even though I had used factor 50 sun lotion I soon found I have caught the sun a little today - I'm guessing it won't turn into a tan!

We are off to 'Surfers' Paradise' Beach tomorrow on the Gold Coast, so will let you know how that is tomorrow!

Anyway - I have to be up at 6.45am to get the bus and was on the water for 5hrs so pretty tiring - will probs just have a lazy evening now!

Speak to you all soon!

Brisbane day 4!

Had another good day today!

Went on the ferry again up the river to the Uni and I met up with Liz and Anuja from Nottingham which was really good! Nice to see soom more faces from home!

Me and Chris then took an evening ferry down to the other end of Brisbane and got some really nice pictures of Story Bridge and the city! Then we took an epic walk back!

Any ways - speak longer soon!

Brisbane day 3!

Hey everyone!

Another day in Brisbane! Got a boat down the river for about 45mins down to Chris' uni, had a look around, pretty nice place! It was pretty hot today and very sunny - starting to get my tan after all! It is a different heat to Singapore - I would say Siungapore is hotter and more unbearable due to the humidity, but this is very sunny - maybe you know what I mean... or maybe not!

We then got off half way back and walked along the Brisbane River all the way back. We then had fresh fish and chips whivh were really nice! Since it's a sunday probably just going to have a lazy evening.

Probably going up Mount Coot-tha to look out over Brisbane tomorrow evening and meeting up with Anuja from Nottingham at the uni at lunch time! Then we are heading down to the Gold Coast at some point this week - probabluy Wednesday. Not sure what else yet!

Anyway - that's enough rambling for now...

Speak soon!

Australia Zoo!

Hey everyone!

Had a really good day today! We travelled an hour and a half north of Brisbane on the train to 'Australia Zoo' otherwise known as the 'Steve Irwin Nature Reserve'. It must be one of the best, if not the best, zoo I have ever been to! We got to the train station and there was a complimentary bus to take us up to the zoo and everyone was really helpful and friendly.

When we got into the zoo we were first confronted with a realy nice statue of the Irwin family, in tribute to the amazing late Steve Irwin, 'the crocodile hunter'! I couldn't quite believe that it has been three years since his death!

We walked around the whole of the zoo in the day - it is very much an up close and personal zoo with low fences etc. We walked through a field of kangaroos which you could feed and I also fed the elephants twice! There was also lots of Koalas - one of which I had my picture taken with! The park is pretty big, 95 acres but is soon to expand to over 300 acres! I think the best way to show you what it was like is for you to see my pictures on facebook, I will be uploading them on my return to Singapore.

I think one of the highlights of the day has to be the show in the 'Crocosseum'! Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin came into the arena and talked for a bit and then one of the other keepers and Terri ran around with meat and jumping in the water with the croc which was really good! However, I was kind of thinking how much more amazing it would have been with Steve Irwin doing the show! The park is full of Steve Irwin posters and videos etc so he will forever there in the park which is really good!

Anyway - I will leave you again for today!

Speak soon - hope you are all well!

First day in Brisbane!

Hey everyone!

As you can tell from the previous blogs, I am now in Brisbane! My flight was good - had three seats to myself so I could have my feet up and lay down for most of the journey! I also managed to use two of the screens - one to watch the outside cameras and flight path and the other to watch films! The flight really did seem to go quickly - the only down side is the taxi to Chris' place was about £20 odd but I don't mind that too much!

Just waiting for Chris to get back from lectures and then he is going to give me a quick tour of Brisbane - I will then be able to explore by myself when he has other lectures - not that he has that many anyway :P We will probably be going to 'Australia Zoo' tomorrow - the old home of the late Steve Irwin the 'Crocodile Hunter' - should be a good day - or should I say G'day??

Anyway - I shall be off again! Hope everyone is well!

p.s. just to let you know Brisbane is GMT + 10  (Singapore was GMT + 8)

So that worked...

My emails were not as successful as I had hoped!

All ok - great flight! I had three seats to myself!!!

Anyways got to let Chris get some sleep!

Speak soon!

coming in to land!

	From: graham Subject: coming in to land! Have ended up arriving early, wil arrive 00:40 brisbane time! had a good flight ~ it 'flew' by! watched two films and ! ate and drank loads!

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on top of the world...

	From: graham Subject: on top of the world... I have just flown over bali and I am travellling at 35000ft I have three seats to myself! Word limit is not great!! Speak soon!

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Brisbane bound!

I'm all checked in and I am now waiting at the boarding gate... only 40 minutes left until boarding so shouldn't be too bad! I was rather surprised when I got to security and they didn't even check my hand luggage at all... Found a really good shop with loads of souvenirs and stuff, so I will definitely come back to there when I fly home... when I have a bit more money! I also had a Burger King whilst watching the planes land :) It's quite amazing how many planes Singapore Airlines has - Singapore may be a small country but they sure know how to capitalise on their position between Europe and Australia!

The one thing that has surprised me about Changi airport is how quiet it is - there hardly seemed to be anyone about which a stark contrast to Heathrow! Last time I came through, when I arrived in Singapore, I didn't really take it all in, I was in a bit of a tired daze after 32hrs without sleep, apart from on a metal be bench at Dubai International!

I can't believe I missed the first Jet vs. Porsche race in Asia, at Changi on the 5th Sept - I can't believe I didn't hear about it! Just seen all the signs up around the airport! What use is that really... I think there is a video on youtube of it, but I would have rather been here!

I am quite looking forward to my flight, but I have been in a bit of a weird mood. If I was at home preparing for a 7.5hr flight I would have been worrying all night about whether I had my passport and visas sorted etc, but I seemed to leave everything quite late! I don't know if it is because I just feel like I'm on holiday still or what! I think I have a window seat, but I can't remember now!

Anyway - the Emirates staff are just turning up and getting the boarding gate ready! So I will blog next time I can!

Speak soon!

Leaving on a jetplane...

Ok so I am all packed and ready to go! I will be heading off the the airport at around 11am (4am UK time). I will blog when I can but no promises! I do have a plan to do a blog by email from the aeroplane, but will have to see if that one works...

Meanwhile, I wrote a war poem last year and I have just modified it, I would appreciate any comments :) I have pasted it below:

Boy

I heard of great victories from my father,
And I heard of great heroes from my mother,
But these are like not other,
These stories tell themselves; over and over.

I saw a boy,
But in his sweaty palms was no toy,
I simply shot him through the head; dead,
Motionless, I watched him; he was still a boy.

I saw a boy,
On that day when they all jumped for joy,
I simply shot and looked to the ground; bound,
Motionless, I watched him; I was still a boy.

These stories are like no other,
There was no victory and I am no hero.
These stories tell themselves.
These stories tell themselves; over and over.

Thanks for bothering to read it! Hope you liked it! 

I will try and blog from Brisbane, but either way I will catch up with you all on my return! :)

Speak soon!

Squirrel in the law library...

Well, I thought my morning would be pretty boring - I got up way too late and ended up only having an hour to prepare my Public International Law seminar... However, once that was over I headed to the law library... all fun stuff... but when I got there, there was no less than eight security guards chasing a squirrel around the stacks of law reports with brooms! As some of you know, a phrase I like to use a lot may fit here: 'it was funny at the time...'. Just like all my random stories, they never sound as funny when I relate them to people...

So off to Brisbane tomorrow! Got to get my stuff packed tonight - I have everything ready more or less - even my emirates frequent flyer card... I have to be at the airport for around 12 Singapore time and I fly at 3pm, should get into Brisbane about 00:40 their time. Feel a bit bad for Chris considering he has uni on Friday and he has to wait up for me! Then I will be flying back at midnight on the way back and get back into Singapore around 8am Singapore time on Friday 25th. So then I can have a sleep and get down to the F1 practices a bit later in the evening :D Should be a good week and a half all in!

Anyway that's all for now! Just thought you may appreciate the squirrel!

Chopsticks!

Right... up until now I have been very British and I have been using a fork and spoon for my lunch and dinner! However, yesterday I had Laksa, which is kind of a noodle soup with boiled egg and seafood in it and to my surprise there were no forks or spoons... so my housemate Ollie got me to use chopsticks! So I tried and they are not as hard as I thought! haha! So today I used them again and I was fine- so going to try and make myself use them from now on!

Anyway - I have done no work, spent most of the day on youtube and generally been pretty lazy - so I am either going to work now or go to bed... I wonder which it will be! :D

Right - speak soon!

My Birthday!

Right - so now that's all the emails - will just start to blog now instead! Don't ask me why they look so messed up - couldn't figure that one out! 

Anyway - So it was my 21st Birthday yesterday! Had my long Monday at uni still which included talking about the financing of the United Nations and Indian Corporate and Merger law...

However, when I got back at about 7pm I got ready and we went out! I started off by drinking a yard of Tiger beer... Then we went to Hooters where we had some western food at last! And they got the girls to sing me Happy Birthday to me! We then went to the Swissotel the Stamford to the 70th floor and the New Asia Bar! (Google it and you will see how amazing it is!) The views were absolutely breath-taking! Must be some of the best, if not the best, in Singapore! We had a few bottles of Champagne, was 45 pounds a bottle, but we didn't have to pay for the views so worked out ok as there were a few of us! And it was Moet and Chandon! :P 

Anyway - I am going to have to get up and get something done so today isn't a complete waste!

Speak soon!

Email 3: Friday 11th September

Hope everyone is well!

I haven't been up to too much for the last two weeks as I have had quite a bit to do at uni. However, I have been to a few of the different 'Hawker' centres around the city. These are like food courts, some are open air and some are enclosed, and they have stalls with foods from different countries. So if you want Singaporean food, Malay, South Korean food, Chinese, Indian or whatever you can take your pick! I went to a particularly famous one the other day called the the 'Lau Pa Sat' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lau_Pa_Sat). I had some Malay satay sticks and a Tiger beer as I had actually already eaten that particular afternoon, but they were really good! I then took a walk back through past the famous Fullerton Hotel and admired the lines of Porsches, Lambourghinis and Ferraris in the area! I then took my first walk to the Merlion, which is the national symbol of Singapore... and I have only just been to seen it! Well I lie, I did go to see it on the river cruise on my first week. With the food courts you get the more touristy ones which are more like a collection of indoor restaurants and others that are just food stalls. The food court that we have near my accomodation is not as good as the ones in the centre but it fulfills the job of allowing me not to cook at all! However, I am starting to get a little tired of rice... so I have started to go to the food courts that offer italian food for a little while. The good thing about all of the food centres is you can stand and watch them cook all your food and the Singaporeans being what they are have given them all a cleanliness rating (A-C) - I don't think I would eat at a C, but many say Bs taste a lot better than the As! Some of the food courts are even open 24hrs a day!

As most of you know by now - I have also moved flat. It is only just around the corner from where the other one was, but it is much better and... cockroach free!!! I now feel a lot more settled and I have now put all of my pictures up on the wall etc (as you can see from the pictures below, but I still haven't finished yet - still have a few more to print). It is nicer being on the second floor, not so dark and damp. It is still nice having the air con, but since we don't have any blocks either side of us now, we get a nice warm breeze through the flat in the evenings which is quite relaxing!

Mid-semester break is fast approaching! I have seminars on monday and wednesday and then on thursday I am off to Brisbane. I am staying with Chris from uni, who is on exchange at the University of Queensland from Nottingham, so no hotel fees to pay, which is always a bonus. I leave 3pm on the thurs and get back into Singapore at 8am on the following Friday, so about a full week there. Really looking forward to it now and seeing a face that I know from home! Also looking forward to stocking up on chips! hehe! Then the day I return from Brisbane it is the FORMULA ONE!!! I can't wait! My flatmates are rather jealous because I bought my tickets before I came and got the cheap price and they have paid just about the same for a walkabout ticket, when I have walkabout and a seat on the Bay Grandstand! :) I'm guessing I will take a few pictures!

Went to the Supreme Court yesterday- I guess I had to at some point! hehe! It was actually quite interesting. The big fascination seemed to be 'years ago out judges used to wear wigs', the British exchange students seemed rather underwhelmed... However, they did have a good excuse for getting rid of them... pouring sweat! The new Supreme Court is a quite peculiar building, the Court of Appeal which is the final court of appeal in Singapore (Unlike our Court of Appeal in the UK) resembles a UFO (you will see what I mean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Supreme_Court). Another thing peculiar to the Singaporean Court system is that they have one Chief Justice (like us), but then they have only 3 Court of Appeal Judges (for starters we have 12 Law Lords/ Justices in the UK and then we have over thirty Court of Appeal Judges) - I know Singapore is small but they must still have a hefty caseload between the three of them! I was also intrigued how they managed to link every bit of the building's design to justice, e.g. the UFO shape symbolizing the impartiality of the judiciary! I hope everyone has noticed in the new constitutional change in the UK this month, the ending of the judicial arm of House of Lords and the opening of the new Supreme Court?

I managed to experience the sight of an Atlas Moth the other day outside our flat. From what I know, it is the largest moth in the world, you will see from the pictures below that it was rather large!

Besides all of this, I can't think of much else I have been doing!

Email 2: Sunday 16th August

Well my second week is over and lectures have started... I had kind of forgotten why I was here!

My lectures have been pretty good though, however I am writing this email when I should really be preparing for my Aviation Law discussion for tomorrow!

I have decided to drop Competition Law and replace it with something else – it was extremely boring and pretty tough going so I am probably replacing it with Public International Law, besides this will give me Thursday-Sunday off after 31st August! That was a bonus – I didn’t plan the change for that reason I promise.. I have my first 9am-9.30pm day tomorrow which should be thrilling!

So far I have been on the Singapore Flyer, done the river cruise, the bus tours, walked all around the marina, have been to Sentosa Island which is amazing! And maybe some other thing that I can’t quite think of right now! Oh yes – And I haven’t cooked once! No need – food is so cheap and here they have food courts where you just choose what country’s food you want and just order it and eat! It’s great!

I have done quite a bit this weekend. Have been looking at cheap netbooks for when I actually have some money hehe! My flatmate, who is from India, took me around Little India yesterday and took me to a very nice restaurant to try some south Indian food and then again today we went to another Indian restaurant where you only pay what you feel you want to give – no set price!

Also went to the Mustafa centre yesterday which is a 24hr department store which is always full whatever time of night you go! I also drank from and ate a coconut in the street which was pretty nice!

Last week’s national day was amazing! It was Singapore’s 44th Birthday! It was mainly a military show and parade but there were cheerleaders and stuff too! I stood right on the marina side (and since I am probably one of the tallest people in Singapore – I could see over everyone really well!) There was a navy boat chase in which the boats had a gunfight on the bay and blew each other up and then there was a gun fight with three apache helicopters at low level flight. Then a Chinook helicopter came and dropped some marines off into the water whilst hovering only a few metres above the water. I do have a load of videos that I will try and upload at some point!

Hope you are all well wherever you are in the world!

Missing you all quite a lot!

Email 1: Monday 3rd August

Hi everyone!  

As you may already know I am safe and sound in Singapore, even though I may still be extremely tired and extremely hot! I can't complain!  

My flight was really good. I would fly emirates again any day! Free drinks every hour and really nice food and water whenever you wanted it. The entertainment was good too! I watched the film Taken and I am not quite sure what I did for the rest of this time. Mostly listening to the UK chart or playing games or looking of the window. We flew over Iraq at night and you could see all the oil wells lit up which was quite nice to see! Dubai airport was absolutely packed but I bought some really cheap memeory cards for my camera there :) but also fell asleep on a bench there! Sri Lanka also looked amazing when we landed!  

My law buddy is really nice - she picked me up from the airport, then took me to hotel and picked me up again this morning to take me to campus and to accomodation - it really helped as I did not have to worry about getting a taxi etc from the airport! I stayed in the hotel last night which was actually quite nice! Then today I had registration and my medical examinations. Checked into my accomodation - its not bad but still trying to get single accomodation if possible!  

I walked around the whole campus today - it goes for miles! Took a few taxis which are extremely cheap! I also made my first ever visit to IKEA, I bought a duvet and things as they are not provided!  

Haven't got anything more interesting to say yet! Might post a few pics up in the next few days, but haven't been in the main part of this city yet for the good views so wont me much yet!  

Anyways that's all for now!  

Speak to you all soon!

Hello!

Right so... I am going to be blogging from now on so I don't have to subject everyone to my long and boring emails anymore! I will also be putting my previous emails up on here so everyone can see them! So... give me a while and I will have put them up! :)