This is actually a long overdue entry. I have been quite busy lately, yeah who's not right? Hehe.
We went to Cambridge about 2-3 weeks ago to bring my sister in law Aishah for a day trip. It's not that far from London, approximately 1 hour journey by train from King Cross train station. For a day return ticket, it costs GBP 20 which is quite reasonable I guess.
The city centre of Cambridge.
The market right in the city centre.
A lot of handmade stuffs in this market.
A memorable family portrait in front King's College.
Someone was sulking because he didn't get something that he wanted..hehe..
Whenever people hear Cambridge, UK, they will associate it with a highly prestigious academic institution, which is the common perception. Same goes whenever you meet someone and he or she tells you that he/she is a Cambridge University graduate, your first expression is always, "wow!", this person must be really, really smart. Cambridge is actually a university town, which consists of quite a number of colleges, if I'm not mistaken about 33 colleges and the famous and top ranked ones are Trinity College, King's College and St. John College. These colleges are actually self-governing and independent. This means that if you were trying to apply to Cambridge University, you have to decide which college that you are actually interested in and your application will be handled by that particular college including all the entry interviews and examinations. They have quite stringent entry requirements especially for those 3 top colleges like Trinity, King's and St. John. Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin were among the famous students of Cambridge University.
The grand entrance of King's College, University of Cambridge.
This is the inside view of King's College.
A chapel inside King's College.
OK, enough with the history, Cambridge for me is a beautiful place to visit. It also famous with punting. Punt is actually a flat-bottomed wooden boat and designed for use in small and shallow river. Besides Cambridge, punting is also famous in Oxford. I have been to Cambridge 3 times and tried punting once. If I'm not mistaken, for a guided punting tour it costs less than GBP 15 for about 1 hour ride and there's also a student discount. There are quite a number of companies which offer punting service and the price are almost the same. Most of these guys are local people and some of them are the students of Cambridge and they know the local history very well. The whole punting journey is a great experience and very interesting one. The scenery along the river is just gorgeous.
On a bridge across the river where a lot of people do punting.
You can also visit the colleges especially King's, Trinity and St. John college with a small amount of fees which vary for each college. I think the experience to visit these famous colleges is totally worth with what you pay especially for those who love architecture and history.
A walk to remember...
Adam's excitement..
I think spring and summer (between April-August) are the best time to come to Cambridge because the flowers, the clear blue sky and the sunshine make it even more beautiful. Plus, day time is longer during this period of time so you will have plenty of time to spend to enjoy the beauty and history of Cambridge.
Hope you enjoy these pictures that I took during my recent visit to Cambridge. I'm afraid that these pictures do not do justice because Cambridge is actually a lot more beautiful than those pictures, you have to go there and experience it yourself =). Now I sound like someone who lives in Cambridge or maybe work for Cambridge tourism agency..hahaha..
