Cambridge

My train arrived in Cambridge around 10am, and as I disembarked the train and took my first Cambridge air, I find myself more intellectual already! The train station was just a stone's throw from the Cambridge YHA where I would be bunking in for the night, hence I dumped all my stuffs there after checking-in, and marched towards the city centre for a hurricane-like visit, as I only had a day here.

Unlike Malaysian universities where universities are practically walled up, Cambridge University has 31 colleges scattered within the town itself, and these colleges somehow compete among themselves to be the best. Cambridge University was established after a riot occurred in Oxford among the academics and the townsfolk around the late 1200s, and since then, it has flourished to be one of the best universities in the world!

And since it was a Saturday in the month of July, the town itself is swarmed with tourists, both locals and foreigners! I kept on stumbling myself upon tour groups of Chinese elementary school students, or Italian high school students, or a bunch of Indian families, or some  high school French girls. I started my excursion with the King's College and its renowned chapel, which is one of the most photographed landmarks here in Cambridge. Too bad the choir was not singing that month since the students were on their vacation. Damn!

Next to it is the Trinity College, where I visited subsequently; it is the largest college here and has a long list of famous alumnus, like Isaac Newton. Adjacent to it is the St John's College where lies the famous Bridge of Sighs, which spans across the river. Visitors are not really allowed to cross it, and you can take snapshots of it, as well as the people punting along the river, yet if you're streetsmart enough, you could be lucky enough to walk through it unnoticed, just like me. 

Beyond the river lies the Backs, where there are lovely gardens and sculptured lawns,  green meadows. I spent an hour just lying down on the greens, enjoying basking under the sun, something new that I started picking up here. As I lie down wondering, I thought of 徐志摩's poem. 

輕輕的我走了，

正如我輕輕的來；

我輕輕的招手，

作別西天的雲彩。

那河畔的金柳，

是夕陽中的新娘；

波光裡的艷影，

在我的心頭蕩漾。

軟泥上的青荇，

油油地在水底招搖；

在康河的柔波裡，

我甘心做一條水草！

那榆蔭下的一潭，

不是清泉，是天上虹；

揉碎在浮藻間，

沉澱著彩虹似的夢。

尋夢？撐一支長篙，

向青草更青處漫溯；

滿載一船星輝，

在星輝斑斕裡放歌。

但我不能放歌，

悄悄是別離的笙簫；

夏蟲也為我沉默，

沉默是今晚的康橋！

悄悄的我走了，

正如我悄悄的來；

我揮一揮衣袖，

不帶走一片雲彩。

I spent the next few hours shopping for souvenirs, before I headed down to the Fitzwillam museum. In my opinion, it is as good as the Asmodean in Oxford, but still being dwarfed by the British museum in London. Still, the exhibits are worth a visit, and I would have lingered in it for hours, if not for my sore feet and my worn off shoes, which beseeched me to go back to my hostel and rest them.

Anyway, I headed back to the hostel around 5 pm in the evening for a good rest, as I would have to wake up early in the next morning to catch a 730 am bus to Oxford!