Today is VinE trip to Cardiff, capital of Wales. Kinda look forward to it, my standards set by how characteristic Scotland is compared to the English. The coach journey was kinda long, not by Liverpool’s standards but still some 3 hours worth of butt burning.
Reaching Cardiff kinda remind me of Inverness, less the mist. A quieter, smaller scale city compared to London or even Edinburgh, the 1st majestic structure that met us were the Millennium stadium. Yes, it’s a piece of architecture that all English football fans will be acquainted with somehow. FA Cup finals, and other cup finals etc are held here, not to mention it’s the home ground of the Welsh national team. We didn’t get in, heard it was closed. Still, the amazing part of this building is that a full soccer match can be played within under shelter. Yes, the Brits built it to play indoor soccer on live pitches.
We alighted the coach at the castle. Not too much of an impressive fortress if you ask me, for I’ve seen the grandness of Windsor, the genius of Edinburgh and the celebrity of Warwick or even the ordinary feel of Carlisle. Cardiff castle, well, is just another castle. I think the nice part about this castle is probably the part about being a roman fortress 2 millennia back. The remains of the roman walls are still around, which reminds me terribly of Hadrian’s Wall at the English-Scottish borders. The keep is in ruins, but still an interesting feature smack in the middle of the castle grounds on a little hill. We had a guided tour around the main building of the castle, showing us the Scottish links to this place as well as an impressive nursery that dates back to the 19th century. In fact, the chief artist that painted the walls and ceiling stays true to the theme that guards each part of the castle, for example ‘the passing of time’ at the clock tower illustrated by differing zodiacs, days of the week or even a cabinet meant to store cigars, liquor and the likes. However, the most amusing part of this tour must have been the story teller and of course, Singaporeans. He, for the part of his job, tried to make each and every story interesting to us. On our part, we had those unanimous ‘wow’s and ‘wooo’s that makes this ang mohs laugh and smile at us. Haha, being suah gu has its fun after all.
Lunch in UK has its uniqueness, we have them in pubs. In Wales, they have this paste which they make locally called rarebit (yes, pronounced like the little white furry animal with pointed longs ears – rabbit). In actual fact, this stuff has none of the little creature in it; it’s entirely vegetarian made with Worcestershire sauce and cheese I suppose. And it tastes great, whether you add vinegar or not (I truly suspect that black sauce is back vinegar but I can’t confirm). Then there are stuff called faggots (No it’s not an insult, it’s just black beef meat balls with some kind of sauce) which I absolutely did not try for reasons that people around me knows best. Last but not the least, Welsh bitter is not that impressive which makes it less well known than other UK liquor like Scotch whisky I think. The non-effervescent beer is pretty mild, and the nice (and only) thing about it is that it does not leave behind a bitter and lingering aftertaste.
The famous central market reminds me of Borough market in London, fresh farm food and the likes. However, in addition to fresh food, they sell hardware stuff as well as books, stationary and even barber services! To be honest, I’m quite amused by the fact that the barber is in shirt and tie happily serving his customers while I’m used to the T-shirt donning ah pehs in Singapore. It is here that we had Welsh cakes. Quite cheap, some 21p per piece if you buy half a dozen. Perhaps it’s because I had Italian gelato before the cake, but the cake doesn’t seem to taste as impressive as it should. Well, all I can say is that Welsh cakes are quite a mouthful and dry if you start chewing.
Cardiff bay is quite a touristy place. The most touristy thing about this should be the Millennium centre (somehow, Welsh people are so dull that they name every impressive piece of architecture after the new millennium). This centre had a Welsh phrase on this entrance, so big that it becomes a signature here. Outside the building, there’s this towering waterfall (or maybe fountain is a better word) that provides a serene feel with its ripples (less enjoyable in the rain). Perhaps the most noticeable feature of this place is the Roald Dahl Plass, a oval kind of open space characterized by a dozen of pillars situated within. A place to commemorate the famous author born of Cardiff, I simply don’t get where the links to the authors are. Maybe someone can enlightened me somehow.
Cardiff, no matter what, is still just a city. I suppose I may just enjoy it better if the trip branches out to the suburban and rural terrains, particularly the famed highlands and shorelines of the uncharacteristic Wales.
