My love affair with the UK

Somehow the UK has a special place in my heart and even if my sister didn't live in England (it does help, the free accommodation) I would still visit often.

I like the idea that people roamed the cities and streets hundreds of years ago and I now roam those very same streets.  It's the old civilizations, the old homes, the lives that attract me.  You could ask why I don't have a love affair with the country of my origin? It is one of the oldest civilizations but  somehow my Indian cousins don't seem to have used that to their advantage.  That country is still mired in chaos and corruption.  To me, they haven't evolved as well as they should have! 

The country of my birth, Singapore, does have some early history, the earliest is thought to be in the 11th century and it gained some prominence in the 14th century under the prince Parameswara, but what they failed to leave behind was enough evidence of them being here.  There are no 14th century monuments for us to gawk at.

We only have a few buildings that the British left behind to remind us of our colonial past.

What attracts me to the UK (I lack exposure to the rest of Europe so I am basing this on my limited travel experience) is the open fields and endless space around.  Living in crowded Singapore one has to travel across the causeway to Malaysia to get open spaces.  Its almost claustrophobic here.
I marvelled, and was quite giddy with delight at all the open spaces, so close to bustling cities.  

England

Scotland

The English countryside was so different from the views of Scotland, one is nice and pretty with rolling gentle hills and meadows while the other is rugged and breathtaking, almost like a handsome adventurous man with that wicked glint in his eye.  So close to each other but so very different!

I always wondered if I, a product of a city upbringing, could leave it all behind and live somewhere rural.  I am quite convinced that I could.  I  crave the silence, which is why the next phase of the adventure is down south, New Zealand.......