Manchester

Arrived at Manchester after a 90-minutes coach ride from Sheffield. The coach journey itself was already very rewarding, with picturesque views of the Peak District. The coach passed by Langsett, Crowden, Hollingworth etc and although weary due to insufficient sleep, I just couldn't bear to take a nap with all the stupendous sceneries right in front of me. Well, I didn't visit Old Trafford today... so, I'll be able to enjoy the scenery once more either tomorrow or Wednesday when I head to the theatre of dreams.

Manchester, being the world's first industrial city, is definitely more lively than Sheffield, but definitely not so when compared with London. Most shops closed at around 5 pm today. Attractions are not that many, architecture not that captivating, museums are ok. I guess one of the main reasons why tourists are drawn to Manchester is its successful football team. I actually have time to go to visit Old Trafford today, but I reckon I would take around half a day there and so, I decided while eating my lunch at Wagamama that I should spend 2 days instead of the intended one day in Manchester. In this case, I will be able to tour around leisurely and not rushing and clearing checkpoints like the last time in Rome.

Anyway, of all the places I visited today, Urbis was the most interesting one. This stunning new museum is devoted to urbanisation (as the name suggests) and the interaction between cities and people. So intriguing that I made some notes which I think would be interesting to share:

(1) Singapore (yes, my home country is featured in a faraway country called England) has the BEST computer education system in the world. 48% of households own a pc.

(2) In 1950, ONLY London and New York had populations exceeding 8 million. By the end of the last century, 22 cities had become megacities.

(3) Greater Manchester has more football teams per head of population than any city in the world.

(4) In 1950, London was the world's second largest city, by 2000, it was not even in the top 10.

(5) On any one night, around 700 people in England sleep outside on the streets.

(6) With a security camera for every 40 people, Britain is the most watched over country in the world. On average, you (people in Britain) are filmed 300 times a day.

Sounds scary yah? I can testify to the last statement. I just discovered last month that there are more than one CCTV on a normal London bus!

They interviewed Leo Lim as well, the blind busker in the underground tunnel adjacent to the exit of Orchard Rd Tube (oops, should be MRT). Really heartwarming to hear a language so familiar (and especially how he states implicitly Singapore's importance to him) in a faraway land.

So I'm glad to have spent the reading week to come to Manchester after all, instead of studying for my Stats exam next Wednesday.

Shall stop now for today. Will talk about Old Trafford when I've been there.