And the walls kept tumbling down, Pompeii

Let me tell you a really tragic story. When I was in a naples, I hopped on the train to take a look round Pompeii. Being the cheapskate that I am, I refused to pay for a guide and trusted myself to understand what I was looking at. I was completely flattering myself as I couldn't make heads or tail out of what laid in front of my eyes.

Pompeii's history is suspected to go back as early as the 7th century, destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. Pricking my ears up and loitering around tour groups led me to learn why modern day humans are so impressed by this great archaeological site. It is because Pompeii was largely a well civilised and functioning city. It had authorities, elites, middle class, lower class and labourers. It had baths (which is more than what my home town can say), an amphitheatre and even a brothel! 

Some of the buildings that housed the wealthy had tiles and intricate layouts as a display of their wealth and status. The iconic pillars and statues survive still very much in tact boast of the skills and craftsmanship of the people who lived back then. Walking through the uneven stone path, I tried very hard to imagine what it was like as a city bustling and alive and not for the first time wished I had time travelling abilities.

I was sitting at the highest row of the amphitheatre giving my legs a break as well as eavesdropping on the guide explaining to the family above facts about this structure. He said that the theatre scientifically very advanced in terms of audio amplification, whether or not the architects understood the science that lay behind it. Standing at a spot right in the middle of the stage would create waves that converge and produce the largest amplifications (forgive my messy explanation, I have abandoned physics quite a number of years ago!) This is cool beyond measure. I wouldn't have came near figuring this out even with all our modern technology in place (of course I don't need to since its in probably all physics textbooks).

I remember clearly that I decided to return to my hostel after discovering the amphitheatre (discovering is an exaggeration since all I did was follow the crowd). The sun was blazing and I made the mistake of not eating before I started. To top it all off, I exhausted my water supply. Everything started to look the same to me, the stony path, broken pillars, grey walls, and even the trees. The blazing sun did not help and I felt so close to passing out. I did make my way out. Eventually.

At the end of the day I have nothing much to say about it. I'm sure it would have been amazing had I suck it up and part with a few extra euros to get myself a guide. It still was a pretty cool adventure since I really enjoy walking. It isn't hard to get from Napoli to Pompeii seeing as it is such a popular destination. So I probably would recommend a visit if you were near by. Just make sure you equip yourself with a guide, a guidebook, or at the very least a map. And food. 

High Tea in the lap of luxury, London...

Just a few metres shy of the River Thames, my friends and I made a visit to Corinthia Hotel to have our fill of exquisite sandwiches and fine desserts on our last day in London. It was overall a pleasant experience probably not to be repeated in the immediate future (and perhaps even a tad premature) given my shallow student pockets at the moment. 

However, you won't be hearing any complains from me. The sandwiches were delicious, the champagne good, the treats tasty. But my favourite part was the tea! Oh how evident the time I have spent in this country. I ordered a pot of Darjeeling tea, described on the menu as the champagne of teas. However, my driving factor was to cure the curiosity borne from Wes Anderson's movie The Darjeeling Limited.  Even when my stomach was at the verge of bursting, I continued to drink cups of tea because it was simply just so damn good. 

This ended my weekend getaway to London, which felt very much like putting on stranger's shoes masquerading around a big city. Not to mention avoiding the stresses of work calling at the back of my mind. But now I am back in my little comfort zone of a bubble, facing numbers and words everyday. As shiny the bright lights are in London, I have to admit the sigh of relief as I find myself back in the confines of my sleepy university town.

Onwards and upwards!

The Phantom of the Opera, London...

Nearly a year ago I attended my very first musical, together with my brother, we watched the West End production of Wicked. While entering into the theatre with apprehension, I came out of it so much more than just contented completely mesmerised by the performers with their elaborate dance numbers and songs, serving as both a visual and audio feast.

Impatient for the next time I get to visit West End once more, I made sure to book a ticket to a show for my trip to London. With such a wide variety to choose from, it wasn't hard to decide upon The Phantom of the Opera housed in Her Majesty's Theatre. It is after all the second longest running production in West End with the iconic composition of Andrew Lloyd Webber.  

Her Majesty's Theatre's opulent interior serves well to transport its audience to the setting of the musical itself - Opera Garnier in Paris. The story follows Christine Daae of Swedish descent, an orphan child of a deceased violinist working as a ballet girl in the Opera. In a twisted tale of love and drama, she is taken under the wings of a mysterious Phantom rumoured to roam the opera. She believes him to be the "angel of music" her father once promised her about. The Phantom disturbs the operations of the opera in order to achieve what he wants, which is Christine to be the star of his production. With modern technology, the Phantom appears to be even more ghost like with sound effects and all!

I remember watching the movie version when I was much younger. I didn't understand the premise of the story, neither did the songs register too much in my head. Watching it now at 21 in the theatre proved to be a much more fruitful experience. I am now rummaging through the vast resources of the internet educating myself on all things Phantom of the Opera. It turns out that the part of Christine was written for Sarah Brightman, who was the then wife of Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

Upon surfing through many videos on youtube (which seems to be all gen Y kids can do), I find that I thoroughly enjoy Sierra Boggess's performance as the lead. There is a special performance of the show in Royal Albert Hall that is available to watch on youtube, currently playing in the background of my life.  

It is hard to not find a reason to head down south to London with so much more theatre shows to watch.