3 Countries In A Day

Today was a day of extremes in my work trip to the UK. In less than 18 hours, I travelled by train from up north in Scotland through to eastern England and then, finally, I am in Wales. Throw in a 6-hour meeting as well.

I spent a total of 8 hours in 2 train journeys. Truly exhausting yet amazing.

Exhausting for obvious reasons. The train journey started at 6am. Do not even wonder what unearthly time I woke up! And I reached my current destination, ensconced finally in a cosy hotel room, at 10pm (with fading daylight, so it was truly disorientating). In Scotland, even at 11pm, it was bright like dusk back home! For a night owl like me, these reluctantly waning sunrays are surely strong temptations for me not to sleep, no matter how much I was drenched in fatigue!

Amazing because I simply love train journeys. I used to take trains around scenic parts of China for work, but this countryside scenes of Scotland, England and Wales are just straight out of dreams!

Startlingly brilliant sky with fluffy and sometimes ominous clouds with sunrays emanating divinely from the heavens. Glowing and verdant meadows with arrays of sunny, vivacious flowers of all colours and shapes. Quaint cottages with vast expanses of farms where ubiquitous horses, sheep and cows grazed peacefully. Dramatic cliffs adjacent to the crashing waves of the North Sea with crumbling yet majestic castles perched precariously, almost as if they are floating in mid-air. The sunlight is rich, golden and nourishing...and it lasts beyond bedtime!

I took some photos but could not upload them. So, here's a stock photo of just a snippet of the wonders I experienced today.