manchester manchester is a great city. everywhere you look, people are dressed in the industrial/punk rock style. i saw tons of mohawks and unnaturally dyed hair. i felt like a loser since i didn't bring any huge boots or snazzy "trainers".
my first day in manchester i didn't do that much. khoa met me at the train station (i had wandered there from the bus station while i was waiting for him to get done with an exam) and we took a bus back to his dorm. one thing you don't think about as being a major expense while you're travelling is bus fair around a city, but it definitely is. each bus trip was at least £1 each way, which means at least $4/day if you go to the city centre just one time. adds up. anyway, we bought some tikka masala sauce and chicken at the grocery store, and i cooked us dinner since he was so kind as to put me up for two nights. unfortunately, that was all he was able to do since he had to study the whole time. in fact, khoa left his dorm only once during the entire time i was in manchester, and that was to go to the convenience store across the street. poor kid. so since i was on my own, i decided to just go to the city centre and have a look around. on the first day i got in late enough that it was too late to go to any museums, so instead i just walked through the streets looking at buildings and people. i've been doing that a lot since i got to the UK, and it's actually a pretty nice way to spend time if you ask me. i was really jonesing for a cup of coffee but most coffee shops were already closed. finally i found a bar called panama hatty's that advertised "coffee any time," so i went in. i spent the better part of the evening drinking cappuccinos and reading "robinson crusoe" while occasionally pausing to watch beautiful british people drink their cocktails with friends. my server asked me where my friends were, so i explained that i was from the USA and thus on my own here in manchester. he only made me pay for one cappuccino.
the second day i wandered around the city centre again and went to the urbis museum. there was a really cool exhibition there about how manga has infiltrated so much of our culture. i also did a little bit of shopping at a mall, and had a baked potato with beans for lunch (baked potatoes are quite popular here). before heading home in the evening, i picked up some burgers stuffed with gorgonzola, salad, and lemon artichoke dressing from marks and spencer. i cooked dinner for khoa and i, then spent the rest of the evening watching silly british tv shows since khoa was too busy to go out and i didn't really have anything better to do.
on my last day in manchester, khoa made me a traditional english breakfast of eggs, toast, and back bacon before i went out to meet my friend alicja (also a friend from singapore, but a different university there) for a drink. i wasn't sure how fun it would be since alicja and i didn't get much opportunity to get to know each other in singapore, but we ended up having a really good time together. i find that i rarely regret putting effort into old friendships, even weaker ones. after having a pint with two of her friends, alicja had to get back to studying for her own final exams, so i went to the manchester art museum to waste some time. when it closed, i went to a coffee shop for a mocha and more "robinson crusoe." i knew there wasn't much point in going back to khoa's flat since he'd surely still be busy studying. when the coffee shop closed, though, i had no other options. i intended to spend the rest of the evening there, much like the night before, but khoa's neighbor down the hall took pity on me and decided to take me out on the town. we went for drinks at the top of a skyscraper hotel (i think it was a hilton...) which was expensive but totally worth it. chris was really friendly, and i was so glad to be able to finally go out for once. one drink in that place was really all we could afford, so after that we moved on to a tapas bar for a pitcher of sangria. we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves to the point that time slipped away from us, and we had to make a mad dash back to khoa's flat so that i could get my things and catch my bus to edinburgh. chris was kind enough to walk me all the way to the bus station and help me find a quick snack before i departed. i was so incredibly grateful, but at the same time a little sad knowing that i'd never see this guy again. i guess that's just part of the rhythm of travel.
Post a Comment