5th January 2010: Trafalgar Square's fountain has become frozen solid today! Just to be sure I went over to tap the ice. This has not happened since forever. Today was very cold, but it hasn't snowed just yet. I was at the National Gallery today. Unfortunately, since it's an art gallery, no photos were allowed.

The frozen fountain. For some reason the area was fenced off.

The topmost layer was frozen, but underneath it was still liquid. You can easily break through the ice with a hard tap.

Me with my aunts in front of The National Gallery.

And that's St Martin's church.

Again, my Aunt Mei was my personal guide for the day. Here at the National Gallery we can see how art form progressed throughout the ages. Initially art was used to decorate places of worship. Paintings of Virgin Mary and Jesus were very common. Virgin Mary was almost always painted wearing a blue robe because blue paint (which was made using a stone) was the most expensive during that time. And obviously Virgin Mary is the most important character in the painting since she gave birth to Jesus.

Later paintings became more lifelike and started to incorporate landscapes in the background. Then rich merchants and families started commissioning artists to paint them instead. This took place long before cameras were invented. And you can roughly imagine how much you would have to pay to get one of the best artist of the time to paint your portrait.

I wasn't feeling 100% today. Coming down with the cold due to the freezing weather. After the National Gallery I headed over to Regent Street to visit the Apple Store. There's nothing there that we don't already have here. Ok, maybe the glass staircase and the giant Apple logo outside. And the friendly staff there. Felt a bit guilty walking in with a jailbroken and unlocked iPhone.

Since we were going to watch Avatar 3D tonight, I went over to Sel's place at Canada Water. Had Fay-made pasta at Fay's place before walking out to the nearby cinema.

The nice thing about London is that you don't need to drive to go anywhere. If I want to catch a movie in KL the nearest cinema is almost 10km away. Even going out for dinner requires driving or cycling.

I am perhaps the last person from Malaysia to watch Avatar 3D. It was simply a magical movie. Sure, it may be a direct rip off of Pocahontas. But the new world created by James Cameroon is so rich with new experiences and adventure. And furthermore I've almost entirely forgotten the Pocahontas story. So I'll have to give it a perfect 10.

And imagine the surprise when we walked out of the cinema and found out that it was snowing! For the first time in 23 years I actually get to touch natural snow. It was white, extremely fluffy like flour. It wasn't wet because it didn't melt on contact. The floor became extremely slippery because of it. And the snowflakes just floated down so slowly (unlike rain) like magic. As you walk you can feel the cold snowflakes on your face. It was truly an amazing experience. It's something that I won't be forgetting for a long long time.

However our coats became white because of the snow and we had to clean it off before getting in the house. Well that's one of the disadvantages of snow. Unfortunately I will soon discover some more.

That night I bummed over at Fay's place. Thanks Fay! Your heated floors made me want to sleep on the floor instead!

Next: Science Museum and steamboat dinner! London Trip 2009: Part 6