If there is one thing that I miss about Singapore, it is definitely having a car for commuting purposes. I mean, I really love London. This city is just awesome. Not too quiet, not too noisy. Temperature is just nice considering the fact that I hate the hot sun and in Singapore it’s pretty much sunny and not to mention humid for 7 months and monsoon season the remaining months. But commuting? Errrrr. Not so much.
Having a car really make things easier because I don’t have to think about getting on the Tube nor shall I say train (like we call it in Singapore) with the rest of the people in the world. You can play your favorite song and sing your heart out and there’s no one to tell you to shut up.
So therefore, my cousin and I decided that we should rent a car and try driving in the city of London and also drive down to Brighton. Yes, it may cost more than taking a train, but the experience of driving in a foreign land sure does sound appealing. Besides, we never had a road trip before, because unlike UK or the States, Singapore is such a small country and there’s no point for a road trip because driving from the east to the west of Singapore only take a 30 minutes drive. So we decided to ask the Brothers along (Tom and John), the Americans who never drove on the other side of the seat (but willing to give it a shot). Singapore and London have the same driver’s side so I guess it gave us the confidence to drive around in London. Since Tom and Afifah were afraid to drive in the city, I had to be the one doing it and, I must say, the roads were confusing at first. I didn’t know where to turn or if I could make a U-turn. Thank God for having an iPhone. Real savior! Driving up to Brighton was pretty easy and awesome. Once I got us to the highway, I let Afifah drive us up to our perfect destination. Took us almost 2 and a half hours drive to get there. Tom drove us back. He was super nervous but did okay because he kept both his hands on the whell and maintaining the 10-2 position. It was so funny! He also mounted a curb and got super freaked out that he just had to get out of the car and ask me to drive us back home. John (the other brother), our classic John, was being a total king — sleeping throughout most of the journey!
The Barr Brothers
King John Sleeping
Tom driving on the opposite side for the first time...
Brighton was super awesome. On top of that, the weather was perfect. The ocean was so perfect that it kind of made me miss scuba diving! The sound of the crashing waves and the most annoying seagulls and I swear they’re not afraid of us humans! We almost got pooped on by one! At the pier, they had a sort of mini fair with awesome rides, mini casinos and arcades. We had the best time reliving our childhood days playing arcade and getting tokens to get a prize. Spent almost £15 just to get a freaking Angry Bird toy. It was just a perfect day for us four. We visited the Fishermen Museum (which has nothing much), Brighton’s Royal Pavilion and just most of our time at the pier.
London, honestly in my opinion is the best place to be, but Brighton is just breath-taking. Maybe because I love the sound of the crashing waves and the ocean. I recommend future GE people to go Brighton. If you’re afraid to drive, just take a train. Its less than £20 return ticket!
