Life on a train..

As a special birthday treat from my hubby to me, I gotta choose to travel to any country by any mean of trasportation; and this time (from a tiny bit of the influence from 'French Kiss') I choose to travel by train. It has always been my dream to travel Europe by train.. I could recall the magnificient view that Meg Ryan had on that movie, when crossing Fench...It was so romantic.. but we only have 6 days, so it's a bit too ambitious if I wanna complete the whole lot! I have spent weeks to have the perfect itinerary so I could go to all those places that I've always wanted to see, even for just a lil bit. So, this is what my greedy-yet-brilliant-self had came out with for my special bday trip ever;

::London-Paris-Nice-Monaco-Milan-Venice-Rome-Pisa-Florence-Geneve-Paris-London::

People said travelling with children will put you off the mood and would mean a restless adventure, but I beg to differ. Our journey in deed have a bit of 'challenges' but the overall outcomes was considered great and worth-having. Myra was behaving so well, and look like she's enjoying the trip as much as we did ;) (and sometime.. a bit MORE! lawan tokey!)

Before I begin my short-story of our amazing experience (for us at least), here's something for u

::Useful facts/notes you need to know before travelling Europe by train::

1. Be mentally and physically ready (Seriously, when we travel.. I felt like i'm over qualified for Amazing Race! somemore with a toddler at hand! hehehe good fun though)

2. If u r a resident in Europe, you can buy Rail Europe Global pass to hop on any train within Europe except the country that u're currently living in ( but if you are only visiting, there are other pass that they have, do google it before hand ;) )

3. Bad news is even with the Rail Europe Global Pass, some train still require seat reservation or some extra charges kalau naik train laju, so in a way menyusahkan perjalanan)

4. You'll be amazed to see sampai-corok mane the train'd go. My best references came from http://www.seat61.co.uk/. I owe it to this website for giving me some ideas on how to book and plan.

5. Travel light - leave the unnecessaries at home so you can board the train in peace of mind in one go! (contohnye tinggal jela that 3 pair of different shoes?!)

6. The local train from one Europe country to another (Except Eurostar crossing English channel) won't require a check in, just validate your ticket, and hop on.. you'll still make it even if you arrived the platform a minute before departure.. (talking from experience.. hehe)

7. Bring on any food or drinks that you want and dine in like nobody's business, it's not a crime.. even when using Eurostar.

8. For people with young children, a light-foldable stroller should be your best bet to enjoy the rest of your trip with your lil one.. and don't let other people put you down with the idea that 'you-can't-have-fun-travelling-with-small-children'. We've done it.. and had proved that your lil one could just be another adventurous joy added to the whole trip!

9. Most of the big train station have essential facilities such as luggage locker and shower (for a small fee). So don't stress yourself up on dragging your luggage here n there while tourising in between trains stop. And it is really wise to book a hotel near to the station.. senang cite!

10. Lastly, seat back, relax.. and enjoy the mesmerizing view throughout your journey.

Now, since I have only few remaining days left here, with lotsa packing, clearing to do... i may only have lil energy left to blog. So, as a summary of my last trip.. here goes, some pics and notes that perhaps useful to others looking to do the same crazy things like us)

Day 1: Parieeee

This is my second visit to the romantic city, and the first for Myra. But the last time we were here, I was 4 months pregnant, so couldn't stress myself up to wait in line to climb the Eiffel Tower. So, this time, we took the chance to climb up! After 2 hours of waiting in line, we are finally up and beyond, looking down to others which had just started to line up. Just look at that photo from above.. that tiny dots of the-almost '4' shapes are actually people lining up to climb the Eiffel.. (apelaa sanggup.. bes sgt ke climb?.. tapi mmg best pun! hahaha n btw, we 'climb' by lift to the 2nd floor.. so tak penat pung hehe).

After half an hour, we went down for lunch, and let Myra running around at the foot of the Eiffel.. whilst enjoying the view. Note: Please be extra precautious when walking around major tourist area, if some woman (dress poorly) suddenly come and ask you 'Do you speak English?' DO NOT! i repeat, DO NOT ever said yes! just buat donno and walk off. They are scammers that'll attack tourist to read this postcard about her sick father, needing some money, so rather miss-used of human sympathy to make money. I mean, c'mon.. you can't all be in Paris, wearing the same type of dress begging for money for your sick father? can you? And to do it for years?! Memang kaki penipu.. (kiteorg dah terkene mase first time datang paris in 2007, so keep this in mind the next time you're in Paris!)

Day1/2: Paris->Nice->Monaco

Kiri Nice, Kanan Monaco: Perbezaan rupe paras pantai

From Paris Austerlitz station we board the night-sleeper train to Nice. Yup, just imagine sleeping comfortably in a train from Paris and waking up to the cozy breeze of Nice the next morning. The Nice Centrale train station is small, so it doesn't have that many facilities, but luckily enough there is a shower facilities provided just outside the station. Food also isn't something to be worried about, we found many halal turkish kebab not far from the station. On the day of our arrival, is the last day of Nice Carnivale.. despite of the rain, people are outside cheering for the waiter/waitresses tray-balancing-while-running competition. The greyish sky didn't seem to hide Nice beautiful beach (just tak nampak lawa on camera laa). Nice is comfortably situated in between Monaco and Cannes- which each journey will take maximum- half an hour( by train). So, from Nice, we make our way to Monaco (Len kali laa pegi Cannes ek.. maybe for the Cannes Film Festival perhaps? hehe), along the ride, you'll go through the coastline, mmg banyak gile view cantek-cantek, lalu tepi laut.. banyak boat2 orang kaye.. i think 2nd stop from Nice Centrale, that station name lupe.. mmg the best view ever, betul2 on top of the cliff of the hill facing the sea.. cantek gile! (Sorry tak sampat ambek gamba).
Monaco.. the only city (until S'pore join) to have their F1 racing on the city road. It is a very small country.. even when I google the Euro map, Monaco came out as a tiny dot between France & Italy.. hehe. But, seriously.. kecik2 cili padi.. canteknye berseri2.. (wahh pantun!). But if you're not physically ready to walk up and down the hill road, you better not go here.. the city mostly built along hillside.. so asek kene menapak naik, or menapak turun.. huuu.. mmg boleh selim la kalau duduk situ lame-lame. And.. the best of Monaco.. of coz.. it's luxurious view of speed boats! Just look at that?! Man.. I don't mind getting one of those for my next birthday.. hahahaha

Day 3: Overnite in Milano then shoot to Venezia

Next, come Milan- stayed at a nearby hotel just few blocks away from Milan Centrale (so that dekat sket nak naik/turun train.. hehe). In Milan, kiteorang sempat la gi ronde2 setempat due, our first stop is Milan Duomo. (We bought 1 day Metro Pass that cost us 4Eur). Note for precaution: Sampai2 situ, baru nak set camera, a guy grabbed on Aizal's arm and put some kacang on his hand..then came million of doves eating it out of his hands.. (well.. not exactly millions.. but.. banyak jugak tau!). Kiteorang yang terpinge-pinge then nak lari la dari that guy, but he kept following us, pestering for money, and offer to take our photo together.. (duhh.. like I would trust u with my camera?!) So, to habiskan citer, Aizal hulur 2 Eur, but.. he demanded 10Eur!!!! bl*&y h£*l.. kacang camtu pun ko nak ketuk sampai 10?! Lepas Aizal gertak to call the police, then only he left us alone.. lege. So, be extra careful there.. don't ever let any stranger take advantage of u easily. Apart from that, Milan is superb ;)

Day 4: The romantic Venezia
It was my birthday, March the 2nd; so, biasela.. kenela at least dinner. After check-in to yet another nearby hotel to the station, we went out to dine in some cozy small restaurant in Venice. Mabeles dish! After which, i have the most 'heart-breaking' gift from Myra; she felt down face forward while climbing up on the restaurant chair while we r getting ready to leave! Benjol jugakla paler.. Seb baek tak patah hidung.. (and another gift from her was 2 set of poop! hahahaha.. tenkiu baby)
And next day gondola-ing ourself around the small island (which cost, I couldn't even bring to type!! mahal gile!). Note; jangan lupe makan the superdelicious gelato while in Italy.. kat venice.. banyak giler- and the presentation.. hurmmm.. tuhan saje yg tau betape sabarnye beta takmo makan sampai 10! hehe. Dah puas jenjalan2 we shoot off to Rome.. which journey took more than 5 hours! erghhh!

Day 5: Roma->Pisa->Firenze (only to board overnite train to Geneve)
It's Rome.. finally.. our actual main objective was to see the Colosseum, and the rest would be and added bonus. but surprisingly, during our 3hours free time, we manage to walk to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, then shoot to Vatican city, then see the inside-out of the Colosseum before making our way to Pisa! Oh, in Rome..24hours metro ticket surprisingly cost you only 3Eur! ;)

Pic: The outcome that'll last a lifetime.. tak sie-sie for that earlier 5 hours journey ;)

Pisa..pisa.. I tot we won't make it in time before the sunset.. but luck is like on my side (throughout most of our journey even) sume mmg follow my exact timing.. bes giler. Arrived in Pisa Centrale after 4 hours train ride. It's 16:15pm.. according to my research, from there, we can get a short bus ride to the Leaning Tower. But.. we are not entirely sure on how to get the ticket and everything.. but luckily, Italian people are soo friendly and helpful, that they help to show us the way (even they talked in their language.. n we talk in our language, we could understand each other!! Magic!!) So, dipendekkan cite, sampai jugakla kami to our next destination, The Leaning Tower of Pisa.. Elok je lepas Myra pose, hujan turun lebat giler!!!

From Pisa, it's only 1 hour train ride to Florence. Actually, I didn't slot in Florence for our sight-seeing. I know I should have been.. but I've already booked a train ticket from Geneve->Paris the next day, so.. by hook or by crook, we need to take the night-sleeper train to Geneve. So, in Florence, the only view that we got was the inside of the train station.. hehe
Day 6: Geneve ->Paris -> London
The most exciting over-nite train experience. One point, I noticed that we stopped at Brig (Switzerland) for almost 2 hours. Bukak2 mate, tgk snow baruu je start. Then the train tak gerak2.. dah cuak dah.. after 2 hours, the snow is getting thicker but the train kept moving slowly then stop, still in Brig (like there's some problem with the engine) Abesla.. kiteorg ingat dah stuck kat Brig la ni.. but suddenly it made a move as normal again, and we arrived Geneve 10 minutes early!
Geneve train station boleh tahan besar and lengkap dgn facilities, so you can shower and leave your luggage in the locker room provided for a fee. From there, you can walk easily to see part of the famous Geneve lake, and see the highest fountain in the world. Biase jek pun fountain tu.. tapi dah jadi symbol kat situ. Tapi alongside the lake.. buildings die sume lawa2, and you can see sooo many famous watch maker. Office dieorg based kat situ kot? hehe.. Switzerland kan famous ngan quality watch.. tapi hafta remember, they don't accept Euro, so you have to change to Swiss Franc. Harge barang pun bleh tahan mahal..
Yup.. that's Myra with her lawan-tokey-over-excited pose.. n blakang tula that fountain (Jet d Eau).. cam air pancut kat taman tu jer, just in much much bigger scale! haha.
Dah habes bercerekarama di tepi tasik, balikla kami ke station, sebelum tu sempat gak makan kat Istanbul restaurant..akhirnye Myra dapat makan nasik.. hehehehe. Throughout the journey from Geneve to Paris, memang akan lalu banjaran Alps.. lawa giler! (But I don't bother to snap a photo, stakat ingat lam paler dahla.. hehe). So there.. my most memorable birthday gift ever. Thanks to hubby & lil Myra for making it happen. Muahhh.. leb u two sooo very the much!!
The End (penat dah! time to pack up pack up!)

Out for my birthday treat

Be back on the 5th with pretty much to update (I'm sure)!

Peraking in Prague act III

The third and final day of our budget-breakaway, the weather looks not so promising. It's snowing heavily and this time, no rain to melt the ice. Hurm.. but since we are forced to check-out, we have no choice but to redah the cold flowing snow and proceed with our next itinerary; The Dancing House.

On and off some trams, but yet not getting any near to our main objective, susah jugak naik tram ni.. coz we are a bit confused with the direction from point a to b or vice versa, then tambah plak dengan angin sepoi-sepoi icy.. memang tak larat la nak keep on trying hoping on and off from one tram to another, lastly we decided to use the metro, which is far more easier to understand- straight to the point. So sampaila kami ke Dancing House akhirnye...

Dancing House is actually an office building, so not really open for public access. But if you still interested to go in, try the top floor restaurant, ade gak la alasan nak masuk the 'drunk building'. As you can see, the builing is quite interesting, as if it's dancing drunkfully..dengan tingkap-tingkap senget siap..

After only few snap of the building, we head toward Wenceslas Square, which actually the first place we went to when we first arrive Prague in hope to find 'Hallal Fast Food restaurant' yang die gembar-gemburkan. But pusing punye pusing, tak jumpe jugak.. From the direction that I got from the internet, it says turn left, but according to Dr K, turn right, and he himself said Czech people usually gave the wrong direction between right & left, which they often easily get confused.. hehe klaka gak fact ni, but anyway, memang takde rezeki nak try that halal restaurant.. blasah makan ape yang ade jela..

After lunch, the snow stops, so we thought we'd go to the Old Town Square again for day-lite picture, coz on day 1 pegi time malam, gelap.. When we reached there, the weather was like teasing us, kejap snow kejap tak.. tapi terpakse la redah je with our numbed feet. Snapped few photos and then tot of releasing the lil princess since she had been behaving quite well.

Lepas je budak tu.. tau jela.. berlari la die dari utare ke selatan, timur ke barat.. kejar burung.. tegur strangers (like always). But interestingly enough, for the past 3 days we've been there, people weren't quite as friendly.. nobody even bother to smile at Myra.. poor thing.... until that day.. jumpe segerombolan italian girls (i think). They were so happy to play with Myra.. she's been the center of attraction mengalahkan the Astronomical clock...heh. Even an unknown chinese guy with his camera sebok ambek gamba Myra bermesre alam.

So, that's that.. our journey was over, we said goodbye to Prague..and head off home to London with yet another bag of sweet memories.

Peraking in Prague act II

The picturesque Mala Strana in a cloudy sky

Day 2, I kept wishing that the weather forecast is wrong, that it won’t snow… but when I lift up the curtain…. the previous greyish-green garden have already turned to white; overnight! And there is still more snow flowing down, quite heavily lak tu. Tsk tsk.. takkan nak spend our day in the hotel room je kot?! Huwaaa..

But after breakfast, the sky starts to clear out.. no more snow, just some dripping rain which has taken away most of the white scenery. Alhamdulillah.. so we then proceed with our second day itinerary, to go to Prague Castle area, and walking down to Mala Strana or Lesser Town.

Today is a bit struggling, we had been on and off from one tram to another, but couldn’t get to number 22 nor 23 (which is the most popular tram number that’ll take you to most of the must-see tourist spot. But.. it’s ok.. no biggy.. an extra walk would just be another mini-exercise to release all the tense in our body. ;)

When we finally reached the Prague Castle area, tengah sedap snap snap photo came an unfamiliar voice from behind us, in Malay! Gosh.. ade jugak orang melayu kat sini.. hehehe.. He turns out to be a medic student there for the past 3 years, and was out and about with his girlfriend (also a medic student there, and apparently best student in their Uni, salute salute!) and his girlfriend’s parents who came for their 3rd annual visit to Prague. They were very friendly, and mostly enjoy the company of lil Myra.. Myra lagiiila suke kalau ade orang layan.

Nak dipendekkan cerite, this kind Dr (who by the way speaks Czech AND German), invited us to join them for the tour, so he can help to show us around! We were really moved by his kind gesture, so decided to follow. As we walk down the hill side towards Mala Strana, the Dr girlfriend’s mother then scream ‘Apple Strudels!!! Let’s eat!’. So that’s how we ended up joining them for a nice hot creamy chocolada drink with freshly baked Apple Strudels –said to be a must try in Czech and some other surrounding Europe country as their specialties.. which is not even close to the so-called apple studels kat KL Central (as she put it). I’m not that into food-critics sort-of-thing, so blasah je.. sedap tak sedap blakang crite. After 2 hours of chit chatting and makan-makaning, the Uncle offer to pay. Siap nak blanjer tuu.. dah la baru je kenal, siap ajak jalan skali.. hmmm.. segannye! You see, good kind-hearted people does exist, and we are among those who are lucky enough to have meet not one, but four of them- all warm and kind and some more down-to-earth. An experience, that we will live to tell.

Some shots that I took while jay-walking on Charles Bridge

Coming out of the restaurant, the girlfriend and his parents need to part ways, they are heading to their hotel to get ready for their dinner. But dengan baik hatinye the Dr still insist of showing us around. So, jalan la kiteorang crossing Charles Bridges, where we could find lots of stalls selling arts, performer and the mesmerizing view of the Vltava river. Sampai letih dah nak ambek gambar.. memang cantekla Prague ni.. Sirius!
On our way to Dancing House, tibe-tibe hujan batu turun then tukar jadi hujan lebat... so, sebab kesian dah kat Dr tu.. yang tak pasal-pasal lak kene basah lencun, I said we think this is enough for the day, we’ll catch Dancing house tomorrow.. hoping for a better weather.
So.. that’s some of the highlights of Day 2, meeting a new friend out of the blue while enjoying the spectacular view (minus the rain of coz)..

To be continue…

Peraking in Prague act I

Model posing @ Wenceslas Square

Prague (IPA: /ˈprɑːg/, Czech: Praha (IPA: [ˈpraɦa])), is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavní město Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City.

It was a last minute plan, we’ve been contemplating between several destination, but we are dead broke.. and yet is desperately in need of a break. After few considerations of places to go to,.. Prague comes as the cheapest one.. (amazing huh?)

We flew first class.. (wait.. that’s not right..), we flew with easyjet, a low cost airline just like airasia.. The journey was amazingly smooth, with an experience captain that kept entertaining us with his ‘magical endeavour’. So, kalau2 sape2 yang teringin to explore Europe, on a cheaper budget like us, try easyjet.. it is in deed easy, cheap but remarkably convenient and clean (note: avoid ryanair! hehe)

Arriving in Prague to a sunny bright city, we had a smile, bigger than the plane, even for Myra (no kidding). Since we are under a really really tight budget, we’ve decided to use the public transport to the hotel, which surprisingly easy, despite all label and announcement made in Czech. For the whole trip, we took 3 days pass that cost us 330 Kc= 11pound, lebih kurang laa.. And the best part is, you validate the pass once when you board your bus from the airport, then just walk like donno throughout your journey with tram/metro or bus all over the city for the whole 3 days. Mmg best.. dieorg percaye je kat rakyat jelate.. takde nak bubuh gate2 like in tube, or lrt.. so men boarding je la.. ikut naseb, kalau kene tahan, takde tiket kne la bayar saman.. And another great thing that I like about their transportation is, it is so spacious, and very stroller-friendly. Bleh taruk 10 prams.. and you won’t have a problem.. unlike here :(

From the cheap cost of our hotel, I thought it’s gonna be horror-like room in some unknown neighbourhood where gangsta are running around with guns. But I was wrong yet again. The hotel apartment is clean, big and tidy. We were given 1 small apartment, complete with a separate living room, double bed and separate shower and private loo, and the surrounding was not too bad at all.. easily accessible by the tram system. Not bad for a 15pound a nite stay.. Fyuohh..lege

So, day 1 was not so hard after all, Prague had exceeded my expectation from many angle; from its public transportation to the accommodation, and to its beautiful magnifico buildings and scenery all across town. I’m in love…

Up: Charles Bridge at nite

Left: Prague Castle, Right: Some interesting statue

Later that night, we brave ourselves to go to Karlův most or Charles Bridge area where people been suggesting to go to, to capture some amazing shots of the bridge at nite. From the bridge foot area it is just 5 minutes walk to Staroměstské náměstí or the Old Town Square, where more beautiful well-plan buildings are standing next to each other, including the most talk-about Prague Orloj or Astronomical clock tower.

As we walk along, there are series of restaurant to choose from followed by many souvenirs shops. Mmg tourist area laa. Tapi ape yang membanggekan kami, sepanjang berade di Prague dengan hanye berbekalkan 100pound cash for transportation + meal, we manage to have a nice Indian-Restaurant lunch, 1 dinner in a proper Czech restaurant and a meal or two in our own hotel. Gile save budget, tapi bleh jugak.. yakin boleh rakan mude.. hehehe

To be continue..

UK Trip- London

I know I said 'the end' at my ultimate vacation story.. but I just remember to pen down some more stories i gather while 'tourising' london, like any other ordinary (and a lil bit jakun version of) tourist ...reason being, i just found the london-pic folder and i tot.... this is good stuff, in a dear-bloggy kinda way (besides.. this is my blog, so heck.. i'll blog whateva n whenever i want! hehehe)

Oct 11th, 2008, I woke up with a flu and coughing my lungs out. demm... I hardly ever got sick.. and if I do, it would not be more than 1 or 2 days of mild flu or cough..but now dah jangkit ngan virus d.. lame lak tu nak baik! I think this is becos lately (since lepas beranak, to be exact) I did't get my usual vitamins supplies I.E; fresh fruits. I am what I called hantu-buah. I could eat 1 or 2 boxes of mandarin oranges on my own..(hurm.. teringat kat mesia. every year, during CNY... this is like my must have..makan berkotak2!!) and it doesn't stop there.. I befriended any kind of fruits...irregardless of time. So, maybe that's why I'm fragile now.. i dunno.I think I completely recovered from the flu only after 2 weeks.. huhu.. record time for me..
Anyway, berbalik kepade cerite asal..

First stop is Madame Tussaud (yes... yet again! kate dah ade annual card) hoping for a lesser crowds in hope to hug 2 or 3 hot-waxed-stars (yup2.. even manage to let Myra pose kat celah kangkang Madonna.. hahaha.. hurm.. kne korek balik gambar tu..). Luckily, it is just nice, not so crowded and not so lengang gak. Next, London Eye.. uh uk.. too long a que.. so ended up cruising along the park to see the good stuff that I was so keen to talk about; I had never notice them before, not until that day.. there were mimes, clowns, and many coloured live-statue in gold-pink-silver-white-blue, to name a few. These are much better than riding the eye for the xx-th time! A must see! But bare in mind.. these people are doing it for the money, so if you're taking picture with them.. hulur2 la a pound or two.. ;)


And like any other normal tourist, we then head to the Big Ben.. and walk to Trafalgar Square (which looks wayyy closer in the map!!!). By the time we reached TS, it's already dark.. and as any other small-digital camera, it won't look as nice.. so mite as well skip it and leave. So, with the flu that getting more and more serious I dragged my legs to follow aizal to our frens' open house to complete our day..... yadi yadi yada.. the end (this time I mean it seriously).
P/S: Sorry azerdills n kimi, since that day, dah tak larat gile.. sebab tu tak masak dah for u all.. anyway, hopefully you guys still enjoy the trip with us! ;)

Day 8: Stonehenge & the sophisticated Oxford

Oct 09th 2008, Day 8- the final day of motorhoming. Our Salisbury camp turned up to be so spacious.. the field is sooo huge that you could maybe fit 1 or 2 football stadium. After the usual business.. (plus trying to finish off all the leftover food by stuffing our drumming tummies.. look at the beside pic, Mr.driver comes cook is making his special burger again..) we then head to Stonehenge.. just few minutes away.

I dunno what is with Stonehenge.. even for my second visit, I could still be mesmerized by it's beauty- there it was, stone-up in the middle of the field. It's like there's some special energy or some beautiful spell being cast-out. You would feel that it is amazing.. but why? why do we feel that way despite not knowing the history beyond it? If you do happen to visit stonehenge in the future, do listen to its historic audio tour (given free with the entry tickets). I couldn't listen to mine.. myra dah kebas. Just to prove that I'm not wrong about the energy.. i can see that Myra is suddenly being hyper active and super happy. We let her free on the grass.. so ape lagi.. die blasah la guling2 cam lam bollywood movie.

After the chilling tour of rocks.. we then head to Myra's future University (aminnn....) Oxford Uni. Not much to do besides site seeing and picture taking.. but I gotta say.. by the time I got to my 8th day of visiting almost all of the must-visit cities in UK, I'm kinda bored of taking picture of buildings.. it looks almost just the same.. so we didn't snapped that many, plus the sky is darking- lagi la turn off nak bergamba.

What I can gather from comparing Oxford and Cambridge.. i think Cambridge is much nicer looking, more organized and more tourist friendly. But Oxford does have more souvenirs shops... ;)

In Oxford, finally we set down in a proper restaurant and ordered ourselves some Pakistan Briyani.. a lil bit surprised by the not-so-typical-portion, I'd expected more.. (maybe dah terbiase ngan Doha nye arab-like portion.. gabak2.. hehe). The lunner (lunch + dinner) was great.. memag btol kate Shah n Kimi.. paki nye briyani mmg terbaek!

We head home around 7 or 8-ish.. saying goodbye to our unbelievable sweet experiences with the motorhomes. It was the best trip that I personally ever had... even dah berangan nak buat lagi for Europe trip plak! huhu...

The End.

Day 7: Swanseaing to Bath

Oct 8th 2008, Everyone was sleeping lika baby until almost 10, releasing all the exhausting tense from last night's journey. What an experience.. abes lembik sumer.. hehehe

And the best part is myra's souvenirs. Throughout the journey, she threw up on all of the newly washed quilt AND on me. Memang jadi mommy ni memerlukan kesabaran tahap dewa AND kelalian pade bau-bau yang kurang menyenangkan. hiks..

So waking up, one by one of us went for a hot shower in what they call the almost perfect bathroom, everything is just nice, clean.. except they don't have the hot water controller, which is a real turn point for me. Trus malas nak gi mandi.. mandi lam motorhomes je.. hehehe.

And Oh.. I almost forgot to update, i think at day 5 or 6 (or was it 7?!!) dill was attacked by the unpleasant cold fever. Dahla pregnant, demam lak tu.. and in another country, with no medical record and all.. so manela nak gi jumpe doktor, so at the end she just blasah telan panadol only. Memang tabik spring la dilla.. kuat tul.. despite her petite figure ;). Dalam demam2 tu.. die boleh lagi pusing2 like no body business..

Swansea's campsite boleh tahan gak lawa.. like most of the top-notch-up-the-hill-facing-seaview kind of resort. There are sooo many other campsite around it.. and seperti pepatah omputeh; 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill'...we all think.. demm.. should've booked that campsite instead... hehehe


After breakfast, ermm... did we had any breakfast? I can't recall anymore.. hehehe.. we then shoot down to visit Bath, the World Heritage City, so what they call it.

My original plan was to drop by Cardiff then to Bath.. but due to our (again) bangun-lambatness, we just had to skip Cardiff (cos they said I won't find any fridge magnet there anyway, so no point.. hehe). Since this is my second time visiting Bath (my first visit was when I had my business trip to London way back in 2005) I'd suppose i have some experience of the where-about.. kononla.. alih-alih, i didn't remember any pun! haha.. seb baek gak ade gps.. tolong tunjuk jalan and attraction. But their major point of going to Bath is to see the Roman Bath -dilect translation; roman nye toilet . So.. sampai2 Bath, first thing was to find a parking space big enough to fit our home. We ended up parking on coaches bay. ;)


Inside the Roman Bath, we can see some of the remaining building which they have turned to museum. There are few rooms which I'm too bore to remember...with their own unique-jambaness smell... hiks. I think, the major attraction is their big green swimming-pool in the middle of the building where two old guy dressed up lika Roman paderi chanting some unrecognized mantra. .

But all I can see is 1 old guy wearing skirt, holding a batton.. ready to cheese for the camera..and another old guy guy geberishing his way.. hehehehe. Kind of scary, to be honest.

So that's all we did for that day.. tot of going to Stonehenge.. but it's kinda late.. and we don't want to rush, thus we then make our move to our final campsite somewhere in Salisbury- where we treat ourselves with the most yummilicious-pingerlikinggud dinner of all the travel day- freshly grilled salmon steak.. ermmm.. dap!

Day 6: Colwyn Bay wiggle through Wales

Oct 7th 2008, Waking up in a cold fresh breeze, on top of a hill, facing the big blue ocean as if married with the sky...... and... a train track.

It is in deed a sceneric view. One that many won't regret waking up to by the sound of sonic train passing by every few hours. Even the cloudy weather can't really hide its natural beauty.

After breakfast, we made our move to Conwy Castle and the Great Britain Smallest House.. a challenging road with a 'muat-muat' terowong. But luckily enough there is an allocated parking bay for motorhomes! The Great Britain Smallest house is painted red, red red.. we can't get in as there was no one but the sign '1 pound per entree' there.. so we ended up posing2 depan rumah je la..

The side view on another case is the beautiful romantic bay, full of luxurious boats (so i figured), which kinda remind me of the scene from Mr.Bean the movie.... only with much much smaller portion..hehe. The surrounding town is small and cozy, just nice for a walk.. but unfortunately the weather doesn't really agree with us, it then starts to pour rains.

While others sebok visiting the inside of Conwy castle, me and aizal went back to our motorhome to settle myra's business.. bushyuk tak ingat!!!

By late afternoon, we then make our move to Swansea.. going through the most challenging road we had ever encounter- up through hills, narrow snake-like roads of Wales. Almost all of the passengers were 'car drunk d'. But all of the dizziness and nauseous vomits and even with my imbalanced mind and with one eye open.. i could tell..that they are worth the journey; we were accompanied by series of beautiful misty natures throughout, which aizal said like being in the Lord of the Ring's movie- marvelous, superb and breath-taking.. which no natural vocabs in the world could just describe. (I'm sorry..not to exaggerate..but you ought to try it yourself to believe it!)
After the long 6-7 hours drives (again.. ditipu si GPS.. kate 4 jam je.. ciss), we arrived safe and sound to our Swansea campsite - it's dark and almost coming to their closing time, luckily enough that we made it.

Day 5: Liverpool and Cheshire Oak village

October 6th 2008, What a nice hotel.. thanks to my own mistake and lack of homework, we spent the night at Liverpool Premiere Inn. Not too bad.. it has got big bed (1 double bed, a pullover and a single bed to be exact) but yet only allows 2 adults occupation at one time. What a rip off.. dah la stakat nak tido brape jam je.. huhu.. whatever.. since we've paid for that, might as well enjoy it while it last.

And no breakfast! huh uh.. so, bangun pagi-pagi, after check out kami beramai-ramai masuk ke dalam motorhomes for our own quick breakfast before heading to Albert Dock.

Thank god, It is easy to find spacious parking (another point to consider when driving a motorhomes- you are no longer in the normal lenght categories, and the behind is too big..thus need to carefully pick the right place to park!)

There's nothing much to do there except some quality photo times and visiting Beatles Story (I think it's lika Museum). We didn't go into Beatles story of course, it cost too much! we value our money more than to waste it on the magnificient Beatles.. (dengar lagu korang cukup la kot? hehe apparently we are not that big a fan.. sorry folks!) . Because Albert Dock is so famous for the Beatles, there are plenty of souvenirs shops around.. you can easily get any kind of fridge magnet you want! After few shots.. we then head to the ultimate shopping spree - The Cheshire Oak Designer Outlet village!

how i wish!

At first I wasn't that keen on getting anything there.. cos we are almost broke from moving to the new apartment and have used all our cash money for the trip. But after making few round, we realized, it is just sooo hard to resist! Almost all of the shop slashed up their price like crazy!. For example, Aizal got himself a pair of timberland for 9.99 pound slashed from 52!! how cool is that?! Definately a place to go again and again ;) The signboard even says: Chesire Oak Designer Outlet - GUILT FREE SHOPPING. So.. what can i do?

There are few designer outlet in UK and I've done my research; there are two that closest to London, one in Kent and one in Swindon, but both are smaller than Chesire Oak.. this is in deed the biggest, thus I think it has got more shops.. (tak abes jalan pun! letih.. )

I even manage to grab a lil treat for myself (that I rather not share here.. hehe..but all i can tell is i am BERRY happy ;)). Disebabkan kami ini hanye insan yang lemah.. terpakse jugakla swipe our only credit card Malaysia.. We've got rid of other credit cards and don't plan on getting any in london.. takut pisang berbuah 8 kali! hahahaha

So.. after few hours of satisfying bargain hunt.. all of us gather again and head up to our next campsite in Colwyn Bay.

Oh yeah, on the way to Cheshire Oak, we found a caravan campsite! it is just few minutes away from liverpool.. ciss.. kalau tau dah duduk situ dah, takyah susah2 carik kat liverpool.. urghhh!!..

Day 4: glorified MANCHESTER

So, after 3 days on the road, we have learnt few crucial things to prepare ourselves for travelling. One of which, the wheather forecast! So, according to the website, it's going to be rainy in Manchester and Sunny in Edinburgh! How cruel is that?! We should have turn our itinerary around! (That If only we knew). So, as I told before, we have agreed to wake up really early to start our journey from Lothian down to Manchester. In deed we did. It was the earliest that we ever woke up! So, by err...I don't really recall what time.. but i think 7-ish? we made our move.

People says the best part of travelling is the journey to the place we're heading. And again, people do tells a lot of true stuff. The entire journey from Scotland back to the land of England - to Manchester is so beautiful. We stop several time to snap some fancy photos and still managed to arrive Manchester by noon.

First stop; Old Trafford, Aizal's so-called holy dream (reallllly not getting it). And it must be his lucky day that despite the rainy forecast, it is bright and shiny Man U!

Funny part about our arrival there was, he kept missing the junction and ended up being far and farter apart than the stadium! So, after his 3rd attempt to approach the holy-stadium, we finally manage to park safely. So, what more can you do in an empty stadium in the middle of the day without any match?

Plenty of shopping! The merchandise is lika paradise to all the crazy fans out there (my husband to name a few).. you name it, you'll get it, They have absolutely everything! The most shocking part was, they have more stuff for baby than adults! they've got travel cots, pacifiers, bibs, sleeping suits.. just everything lah! some marketing huh?.. (pancing mommy2 yang daddy2 nye crazy fan of MU.. huhu)

Next stop, the Manchester city. A lil too small than what I'd imagine, and frankly, pretty dull. The worst part is, they don't even have any souvenirs shop, cos apparently in Manchester, all they have as an attraction; is the Old Trafford Stadium and the glory Manchester United. But, lucky me, still managed to grab the last fridge magnet from Hard Rock!

There goes our day, after few rounds we then head to liverpool for an overnight turns nightmare! I was the one in charge of the itinerary plus the camp site look out. There was only one caravan park in between Manchester and Liverpool. So, I didn't really mind about reading reviews from their previous visitors. Boy how I regret that! The liverpool campsite was like the stage for some serial killer movie. When we meet the owner, an old skinny guy, he said due to lots of rains earlier he couldn't let us park in his usual campsite, which is in the middle of a field, so he suggest the scary-serial-killer-barn instead. Plus, he said he didn't have any toilet let alone shower facilities which he claims he already put out on his website. I admit to have missed to see the important symbol of facilities on the website. Another point need to remember, when booking a campsite, always.. always check their facilities and reviews! trust me, it helps!

So, since there's no place else to go, we use the excuse of not having the shower facilities to get out of our booking deal and look for another place to stay, a nice BnB or Inn or something. So there goes 60pound for each room that you can't even share with more than 2 adults! huh uh.. typical british.

Day 3: Scottish-ing away!!

We arrived at Linwater campsite in Lothian before 9pm. More than enough time to relax, cook and had a proper meal together. So, for that we've decided to have a special dinner; sardine, telur dadar and hot rice. Simple but yet delicious (dalam lapar and sejuk, even batu will taste like kfc i figured hehe). So, the next following morning, with time running ahead of us, we took our time to actually enjoy the campsite facilities. Hot steamy shower with its own control, proper room to leave your bag dry, and a handy hair dryer. So, dengan seleranya, me and dill make use of the time to shampoo our hair. After a great breakfast treat by Aizal (we were served burger aizal special), we then make a move to Edinburgh into a pouring rain.. huwaaaargh!!!

It's true what people said about Edinburgh, it is really beautiful and it has it all. It is a place to go is you really in a short schedule to cover Scotland. Castle in the middle of the town, shopping spree at every corner and green green park just about everywhere. We enjoy our time there even in rain! We were all soaking wet, but yet satisfied.. even bagged our self some cool scottish sweaters. I dunno why i didn't feel as cold..maybe the fact that I wore 5 pieces of clothes plus 2 jackets helps! hahaha.. i feel like a marshmallow man- baloon up. But as I scroll back through all my scottish pics.. i kinda look ok.. so no complaint there! hehe

Because we love the campsite so much, we then decided to stay another night at Linwater and make an early move to Machester the next morning. We'll see how 'early' is early on my next post ;)

Day 2: Leeds and only leeds!

I think Day 2 was the worst of all... dahla sampai after midnight, gate kunci.. gelap gelite.. ade telepon tak angkat2, after 3-4 cobaan meng-call the so-called emergency contact number, akhirnye we've been let in (hampir2 putus ase dah), then dalam sejuk2 abang-abang sumer kne blaja care2 nak hook up electric, fill up air, pasang gas etc2. So, abes je pasang .. masuk2 sumer sapu je ape yang ade.. asal perut berisi... hehe kesian tul bile ingat balik!

Becos of the bad drama last night, the next morning all of the following-the-itinerary-timing moods are out. None of us get up early to start the day. The park man whom last night claim he gonna come by the morning to sort us out, didn't show up at all. We walked through the cold breeze to go to the toilet and left frustrated by the locked doors!!! I mean.. the park is nice and everything.. but the service? I think kedai mamak lagi better! So, ended up me, aizal, dilla, aidil n myra take our turns to mandi lam the compact shower room inside or motorhomes. (Seb baek air boleh refill). And the other two gents managed to get their way into the park shower room (which according to them much better left untold - teruk la tu i figure? hehe)

After our very first leisure-lazy breakfast, we then heads to our first and s'pose to be brief stop; Leeds, when we eventually spent the rest of the afternoon looking for a place to park! then an hour or two for dine-in fish&chip lunch, lurking for the non-existing fridge magnets and a drop or two to the chinese shop (in hope to find aidil's formula). I didn't even remember to take much photos! So, since we are really out of the schedule.. and if we carry on to Newcastle-upon-tyne, we will pretty much endup arriving to our next campsite as late as today.. we just had to drop Newcastle. :( shoots.. i was told Newcastle was very nice n a must see.. well then takde rezeki, maybe some other time then..

So after i think 3 to 4 hours driving, we speed across Scotland and landed on Lothian to overnight in Linwater Caravan park. By far the best campsite of all.

It is indeed nice, clean park, and have got showers all berselera to be in. The best part of the park is, it is only 10 miles from Edinburgh. So, we can take our own sweet time for getting ready tomorrow.

UK Raye Road Trip Day 1

Akhirnye.. mase yang di tunggu-tunggu telah tibe. Our motorhome arrives around 12-ish. Besar!!! Bes gile.. ade 1 permenant double decker (single), 1 double bed and 1 convertible double bed and 1 single convertible bed. Everything is there; shower, toilet, kitchen, oven, wardrobe, 2 sinks and 6 seater dining table. I just can't believe how a small van (or it is more lika lorry type?) could have got all of these features fixed in. Unbelievably stunning. If anybody interested.. check out their website; http://www.wildhorizon.co.uk/ and to book for the campsite http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/





So, after almost 1 hour lesson with the company driver, we then loaded up and ready to push off to our first destination - Cambridge University town. (That is not until 14-ish).

We arrived at Cambridge around 16-ish; quite late but still picture-managable ;) . So, ape lagi... try out the infamous gondola ride around the campus area.. nice but a bit too chilly (I wasn't prepared for sucha cold weather, i tot Cambridge just gonna be slightly more like London.. but I was so wrong. Rase mencucuk2.. sejuk tak ingat! with no glove whatsoever.. lagi seksa.. huk huk

And ape yang lebih menakutkan ialah.. I learnt that Myra is staring at the gondola guy way too long - as if she is falling in love or something.. mate tak berkelip! bahaye bahaye (this is like the 2nd time I saw her looking at guy like that, the first time was in a tube, siap tongkat dagu tuuu!)


After all the drama.. we then push off to West Yorkshire to overnight at Upwood Holiday Park. Drove through the narrowest road, climbing hills after hills.. then arrived safely at 12midnite.. when everything is already closed. We've been trying to call up the campsite owner since afternoon.. but no answer.. and since he said it is a flexible camp site, no check in time limits or whatsoever.. we just turn up. Only after 3-4 times trial, only we manage to get hold of someone through the emergency phone number listed in front of the campsite. Itu pun after hesitating and malas2, baruuu die nak bangun bukak gate, nasib baik dah bayar dah park tu. kalau tak, sure stranded laa kiteorang tak bercamp. sob sob.


So, what I gather from our first day experience, few facts you need to know about Motorhoming;


1. Know where to park - There are few limited area to park in Uni area specially. So, try to find Side Road parking area or If you are lucky, Coach Parking area (blasah je.. sebab motorhome besar, so boleh di kategorikan as coach gak la hehe). Jangan mimpi la nak park betul2 depan tempat yang you wanna visit. hehehe


2. Do not arrive super late to your campsite, even if the owner said they are flexible.. I think to be safe, 9pm should be the cut off time. And it is better to pre-book yor campsite, so at least if you are coming late.. they can arrange for something. (Lagipun naye tengah-tengah malam, sejuk2 nak carik jalan lagipun)


3. Do not always believe the GPS - Banyak gile jalan yang GPS tunjuk tu salah.. cos it doesn't count for bus & taxi road only. So, super careful.. preferrably, get a co-pilot to read the GPS instruction with a map on another hand (so boleh compare)


4. Don't fill up the water tank full before driving. It'll get heavier, so more fuel consumption.


5. Take more conforter/sleeping bag.. it can be super chill at night! (but the motorhome does come with a heater.. but still not enough for me!)


Ok then, so far that's all that I could think of .. to be continue..

UK Road trip begins

I am currently away from 02nd of Oct to 10th of Oct 2008 with budak ebott as below itinerary;

London--> Cambridge--> West York --> Leeds--> Newcastle-Upon-tyne -->Edinburgh --> Manchester --> Liverpool --> Colwyn Bay --> Swansea --> Cardiff --> Bath --> Stonehenge --> Salisbury --> Oxford --> Windsor --> London, London, London..
Please leave a message if applicable.. hehe

UK Road trip

Some friends from Doha are coming over for short break holiday during Raye. We are so excited. Can't wait to see them and actually discover UK by road.

So.. we got to start planning and budgetting for them considering the following:

::Point 1::
We've got 1st Oct till 10th

::Point 2::
Need to spend at least 1-2 days in london (plus first day raya and myra's 1st birthday partee - can't wait!)

::Point 3::
One of them is preggy - not to stress her out! ;)

::Point 4::
Need to cover them all (greedy greedy hehe)

::Point 5::
I'm open for suggestion

That special birthday trip

it's the time of the year again, where my lovely hubby get older and i got smarter.. hehe
For his birthday this year, I planned to bring him to see his favourite Man U team on a fight in Manchester.. but until the last minutes.. i can't get any tixx for the game.. so.. as an alternative, we swing over to Belgium.


By Eurostar, Brussels is 1hr 50 minutes away.. i like travelling with it.. no hassle.. fast check in.. and you don't hafta worry about buckling up for the take off! Just what we need to travel with a 10 months old Myra.. who can't sit still, let alone buckled up on the seat! hehe

The weather just great.. after collecting our rental car and check in to the hotel.. we swing to see the infamous 'The Grand Place' and it's once-in-every-two-years Giant flower carpet.

I guess u hafta be really far from the carpet to actually appreciate the beauty.. cos, i can't figure out what the big fuss is all about when i'm standing right there.. the flowers all death.. and too colourful for me! hurmm.. but the picture looks nice.. don't you think? maybe it's photogenic or something.. ;)
There was too many people there.. we walk through and see rows and rows of restaurant.. serving seafood.. yummy! but aizal is a bid cautious when it come to food.. for him, if there's no sign of 'Halal' than he rather starve.. (which from my opinion is not that necessary as long as you know what's the ingredients cos, let's face it.. we have to consider few facts here in order to be fuss-free on food;

1. it's not an islamic country
2. not all the restaurant register themself to be check by the islamic-organization
3. it's a seafood restaurant

Well, enuff about that.. anyway in case any of you is wondering.. we didn't starved at all.. there were many many halal shop around.. as the arabs are commonly seen in brussels..

Next day, we decided to drive to the neighbouring country.. and off to Amsterdam!.. yeah.. it only took us 2 hours ++ but with the GPS.. (surprisingly) it made the journey longer, i think it took us 3 hours or so.... cos.. Mr. Driver kept confusing with the pointer signal and misses few exits. Well.. am not complaining as long as i'm not driving.. ;)


Here's the picture of the thing that made Amsterdam so damn famous.. it's 'magic mushroom' and the coffee shop that sell weed legally. And next to it, is my lovely husband-the bedday boy.



We didn't go too far.. just a quick tour in the town and the canal area and a peek of the diamond factory street.. but sadly, no shiny souvenirs for me.. as it's not my special treat :(

After few hours, we head back to Brussels.. a straight journey home. Toll free hassle free.. no immigration no nothing.. just need to fill up the tank and go. How great is that?!
Minus the fact that Myra mabuk kete.. i think she threw up like 3 to 4 times on the entire journey.. luckily I bought a spare jeans just before push off.


Left: Myra-budak mabuk.. dah pengsan di tempat kejadian.





That's that about our trip.. cutting the long story short.

Happy Birthday Shayang!!! muah muah muah!