UK 2.0: Bristol - The Farewell

The sun did not smile on this trip. Not a single day without rain has passed in Bristol while I was there. It was just like the very first week when I initially arrived. This trip has a been a fruitful and hectic one. So many things to do, so many people to meet. The 16th Encounters was excellent too, I enjoyed it very much. Here are some snippets of time I stole just to be with a land that has nurtured me for a year and a half.

I made a promise on the Great Old Lady's deck to walk upon it once more in the 'chill winter air'. I kept my words.

Early that overcast Saturday morning, not many tourists were around. The good thing about revisiting a place is how you can pick up details you have missed the first time round. Little things that made a place all that more intimate.

I have passed through many times beside this graffiti-strewn wall around a soon-to-be museum, but never took pictures of it.

The weather was kind enough to allow me a few private moments on Brandon Hill at sunrise before it started raining cattle and donkeys again.

Light faded, squirrels waved.

I looked upon these familiar verdant fields of Filton in front of Destiny Church as more clouds rolled in. Perhaps by the time I make another trip to Bristol again, you might have moved somewhere better. No, I do not doubt things would certainly be very different - for indeed greater things are yet to come.

I wish to extend my thanks to The Girls again for the sumptuous dinners you have invited us to. May your hearty laughter long resounds, both in that blessed house and for every house you shall abide in as long as you live. All the very best to you all! To Eugene, for the favors you have shown me, may you never fail to find the same a hundredfold wherever you should go. Great is your destiny and from what I have seen, you have laid hold of it most fully. God bless you!

I would love to have seen the brilliant blue of Bristol's sky at least one. Little did I know that something better was waiting for us as we waited for the bus to Heathrow.

An unbroken double arched rainbow! If this is the farewell of a season, the final stroke on a keyboard ending a chapter - Aye, I can live with that! This is it. Even now, new adventures in another place has already been set into motion.

There is one final chapter of UK 2.0 to do, one that concerns the start and the finish of this trip. Back in my HD somewhere, there are also a few more events and odds and bits from UK that I planned to chronicle. Those I will do when I have the time.

Perhaps the reason why I was happy in UK was simply because I lived as though I never intended to come back. It was the place, the only one that mattered at the time. And now I am back. My heart shall not be divided. For now, for this season, no other places are relevant but Here and Now.

Do I miss Bristol? Do I intend to return? Do I intend to travel? To go away to a faraway land for an extended period again? To the first, I choose not to. To the later, I intend to, when the time is ripe.

Very early this year (2009), in the Exeter Cathedral, as I opened a heavy wooden door to peek inside, a children workshop was going on. The church worker asked if I would like to go in for a visit. I said, 'nevermind.' She smiled, 'maybe one day with you child.' I did not answer. I smiled back and closed the door.

UK 2.0: UWE Graduation Ceremony

On the 13th of November, a very wet and windy afternoon (with gale force wind to follow), we had our graduation ceremony in the Bristol Cathedral, a site of worship that was a millennium old. The fact that the ceremony, a conclusion of another chapter in my life was held in 'my Father's House' made it all the more meaningful for me.

The ceremony was swift and over in less than 2 hours and many faces whom I've not seen since our classes ended dispersed all too soon. It was a real joy to see them again and a thank you to all who made my 20 months in UK so special. All the best, dear friends.

And to my beloved tutors, I would love to be able to contribute back to another generation as you have made a difference in ours.

And above all, a big thank you to my parents who made all these possible in the very first place. This is a real gift and may the path I take from here on bless your hearts.

And so ends this adventure while a new one begins.

With recent news on the incredible amount of over-stayer and the possibility or being even harder to enter UK in the future, I will always treasure this. I certainly wish to see many of you again, especially at a time when we will have much good news and stories to share with each other.

If I may use Naria as an analogy, my 20 months there would be 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe', just perhaps minus the witch and all the chapters of the book, save for the last, which is the golden age of Narnia. Things has gone very well, and I can say with confidence that I have done what I can and made the most of that opportunity. I have no regrets if I will not return, though I would dearly love to. Now, I have made my 'Prince Caspian' trip. If I will return on Aslan's leave to that enchanted land will largely depends on which of the Friends or Pevensies I am. For now, my purpose is in another land and place. But always and forever, Bristol (and to an extend, UK as a whole) will always have a special place in my heart.

God bless you, everyone whom I have had the good fortune to cross path with, and made a mark in my tale - God bless you all!

Thanks, Vivian for the pictures! :)

Ocean and Continent Crossing

On the 31 August, the national day in Malaysia, I returned.
This entry will be a photo journal entirely of the flight aboard an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 777.

At Heathrow Terminal 3 awaiting take off in A380.

Speeding on the runway...

And off we go!

UK from above. While I've always wanted to revisit Windsor and go to the castle, at least I saw it with my own eyes from the motorway en route to the airport and once more when in the air.

Leaving the skies above UK and heading towards the English Channel.

Above the English Channel. The azure water felt so still and tranquil from above. No wonder he, whose thoughts are higher than ours can sleep in the raging storm.

And into the skies above France in no time at all, while it took half an hour to cross the channel beneath the waves in monotonous darkness that seemed like an eternity.

The skies above Europe.

Into the sunset.

Arrival in Dubai, as viewed from the tail camera. One really neat feature that I absolutely love with these aircraft is the option to see from outside the plane. This was a lot for tempting for me to watch than the countless great movies, old and new provided through the elaborate entertainment system.

In the 777 awaiting take off, with delays because of heavy air traffic.

And off we go again, above star-dusted Dubai. I would like to see the dunes and sand of the Middle Easts one day.

A brand new day over Asia.

After such long hours under the dim cabin lights, the full strength of the morning sun was as unbearable as knife to your eyes. It was only later, when the sun was well overhead that I can open the blinds and look out comfortably.

This is the Eastern shores of India.

And our descent begun by penetrating the clouds that so often sheath the blue skies in the tropics.

My first sight of Malaysia after close to 20 months.

Towards the Straits of Malacca.

While these pictures can't do justice to how busy the straits actually are, I have come to understand a little bit more why this vital waterway isn't the cleanest one around.

Back to the peninsular again, this time heading north, after a turn.

Malaysia from above.

Touching down on the runways of KLIA.

A view from under the plane's nose, looking towards another aircraft directly in front of us.

The satellite building of KLIA.

I'm back!