EuroSpring 2011 - London Part 1 (A Day & the White Kodoks)

Hello...

It has been a while since my last post. Busy pulak lately ni. Dengan kenduri-kendara sempena my parents nak pergi buat ibadah haji, their departure last Friday, ditambah dengan kerja-kerja di ofis yang lagi bikin stress. Balik rumah dah exhausted, dan terus tido. Inikah namanya kehidupan? Hihi..

OK lah. Harini nak sambung balik cite trip to Europe last spring. Before I start, let me just do some short backtrack sikit. Ni cerita pasal our very first day in the UK. EXCITED, the excitement yang just couldn't get any bigger than these CAPS.

The three of us (Shawn, Yda & I) arrived in London on the morning of 1st May 2011. Kalau tak silap, sampai Heathrow dalam 6.30 am kot. Tapi kat sana matahari dah naik, dah macam pukul 8-9 am Malaysian time. The plan was to spend the whole day around London before taking the cruise ship to Amsterdam. So, from Heathrow, amek bas masuk town untuk ke Paddington Station. Bila dah sampai kat Paddington tu, sementara nak menghilangkan lelah and trying to get our bearings, ape lagi, snap snap snap la...

It's THE tube

The guy behind the Info Counter was a bit unfriendly. Lapau agaknye.. Kesian kan?

Duduk kejap la... Sejuk tau kerusi2 tuh...

Tidak rela mengheret luggages dan menggalas backpacks, we decided to leave the luggages kat Left Luggage di Charing Cross Station. So turun underground and naek Tube from Paddington to Charing Cross station. Sorang simpan satu bag, kene charged GBP 8.50 per luggage for the first 24 hours. Quite convenient and safe. The company yang operate the service, Excess Baggage Company, ada operate kat a few other stations and also airports in Britain, so mmg agak menyenangkan la utk travellers mcm kitorang ni. Other locations and their rates boleh tengok kat sini.

Charing Cross Station facade.. The Black Cabs in line waiting for passengers..

Icons of London - The Black Cab & The Double Decker Bus

So pagi2 tu, basically kitorang pegi pusing jenjalan to kill time. Really overwhelmed getting to roam around London on our own, banyak la pictures yang di'snapped'. Jom kita tengok London dari lensa kamera Nikon & iPhone.

Location : Trafalgar Square, Around & About a Roundabout

The scenes around Trafalgar on May 1st morning

The warm morning sun felt really comforting on our cold skins. There were not so many people around as it was still early. After about 15 mins, the National Gallery started to open. Free entrance to most of the (free) galleries, of course. We did go in, but sorry, no pictures though. Well, there were paintings from the Renaissance era, plus the paintings on Christianity. And also some others which I just didn't know of. I for one, have never been a painting connoisseur. The street performers in front of the National Gallery were more exciting to me. Hehehehe... There was one guy who got a tennis racket through his body. Quite a crowd puller with his antics and singing. At one corner, there was a group of teenagers dressed like gypsies (or were they really gypsies?). There were some others which I have forgotten now. Quite interesting to see, as we don't have that many places & buskers in KL, except in front of Maybank in Bukit Bintang/Sg Wang big junction.

Buskers in Gold, Silver and Bronze in front of the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square

Jalan depan sikit, along the Whitehall. Nampak orang ramai kat Privy Council Office. Ada apa? Tak nampak ape except for people taking pictures with the horseguards. OK, let's stop here for a while, we decided. Hopefully ada show or some sort sbb sume org kat situ adalah tourists. 

The Privy Council Office on the Whitehall, and the Horse Guard

Yeay!!!! Memang ada show. Show the horseguards ramai2 kuar marching, with the horses meliuk-lentok ala2 supermodels.

The horseguards putting up a show...

Oh ye. Time kitorang sampai di London tu (1st May 2011), London cuti. Primarily because of Bank Holiday, and also, sbb Prince William and Kate Middleton baru je kawin on 29th April 2011. So, along the way, ade la jugak street vendors ambil kesempatan menjual memoribilia muka2 dorang. My hunch, the Londoners suka this royal couple. We found this...

Congratulations William & Catherine!!!

I didn't buy any of those, though. :D

Location : Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace & the Green Park

Jalan lagi ke depan, mengikut langkah pelancong2 lain. Only tourists je kot yang rajin kuar jenjalan pagi2. The locals of course la lepak kat umah kan, dah cuti kot. Mari kita tengok....

Churchill Museum & War Cabinet Rooms

At the Buckingham Palace.. Ramai orang uollssss....

 And NO we didn't get to meet the Queen!!! Hehehe..

Since tak dapat jumpe Queen E, kitorang pon lepak la kejap. Lepak the Londoners' way...

Chilling at the Green Park

Location : White Chapel, East London

Hari dah makin petang. Alamak, belum solat lagi!!! So bergegas cari masjid. Pusing keliling tak nampak tanda2 ada masjid kat areas tu. So check map yang Yda ada bawak, and katanye the nearest mosque was kat area White Chapel (alaaa, macam yang dalam game Monopoly tu). So gigih la plan the shortest route nk ke White Chapel sbb takut terlepas waktu solat and terlepas kapal ke Amsterdam. Cepat2 pegi carik the East London Mosque kat area White Chapel tu. Jumpa!!! Terasa sangat selesa sebab berada di kalangan saudara seagama di bumi asing, ceewaaaahhh!!!

The East London Mosque

Kat tempat kitorang solat tu, kat level atas, ade 3-4 org girls tgh study. Africans rasanye sbb cara pakaian dan hijab lain sket. Tgh buat study group sbb nak exam, macam biology ke hape ntah subjeknya. Tapi speaking British English cam best aje dengar. Of course la kan, dah kat Britain, mesti la sume org speaking British English cam air kan?

Lepas solat, carik makan pulak. Sempat singgah di satu kedai halal, City Fried Chicken & Grill. Senang je pon carik kedai tu. Kalau dari masjid nak menghala balik ke White Chapel station, the shop will be on your left. Kat area White Chapel tu ada a few Halal eateries, so OK aje nk makan mane2 kat situ. InsyaAllah......

Rezeki hari ini.. Nasi briyani tu sedap gak.....

Habis makan, sambung balik perjalanan. Nak amek bas ke train station mane ntah (tak ingat dah) to get to Harwich, the last train stop at the port where the cruise ship, the StenaLine docked.

Tengah tunggu bas kat area White Chapel, pastu ada la 3 orang mamat saleh, baya2 muda-mudi cam kitorang gak. Diorang pandang kitorang atas bawah macam pelik (pelik tak pernah tgk Asians kat area tu agaknye). Then one of them yg sedang merokok, dengan selamba kodoknye hembus asap die kat muka Yda, who happened to sit nearest to them. Just imagine betapa kodoknye mamat tu (dan kawan2 die). Yda dah tak selesa, tangan pon dah kibas2 udara tercemar kat hidung die (skit lagi boleh buat iklan 'Tak Nak' merokok). Shawn pon tak comfortable so she got up and moved to the other side. After almost 3-5 minutes suffering the polluted air and minds of those kodoks, dorang boarded a bus and blah. Alhamdulillah... Dalam hati kitorang, mmg cilakak la kodok putih ni. I believe that's one of the effects of Islamophobia yg still ada dlm kodok2 putih cam diorang tu. And kalau difikir balik, patut la White Chapel ni harganye murah je dalam game Monopoly. Yang paling murah tau. Sebab that area cam area terpinggir sikit and gloomy je tempatnye. Orang2 kat area tu pon looked a bit dodgy to me. Dalam hati kerdil ni, ada gak terlintas takut kene tembak ke kan?? Choiiiiiii sgt aku kan!!!! Tapi alhamdulillah, selamat je sume...

Lepas sampai kat train station tu, tengok2 dorang buat maintenance la pulak kan, so all the scheduled trains to the affected areas dorang replaced dgn bas. So kitorang pon naek la bas. Penat jalan satu hari, tertido la kitorang bertiga dalam bas. Tapi bile dah sampai kat Harwich tu, ngam2 je sume bangun. Huhuhu...

Turun bas nak amek bags, angin mmg sejuk gile la kan. Tak pernah kan rasa angin sejuk North Sea. Hamek kau!! Cepat2 lari bawak bag masuk building nak board the ship. Sampai kat main hall kat atas, check tickets dulu and then cop passports pastu baru la masuk kapal.

I'm leaving on a ferry..

Our cabin, 10-342

All these on Deck 9

Ada cinema...

Inilah sedikit sebanyak photos yang sempat dicapture dlm StenaLine malam tu. Memang menarik. And the experience, convenience and comfort sure beat flying, provided you're not rushing for time. Actually there are a few other cruise ship operators I believe, but we went for this one sbb die punye route mmg specifically UK to Holland. Senang gitu. For further info on the routes & destinations, deals & offers ke, boleh check kat website die http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/.

Sempat check out open deck, belah blakang kapal tp masya-Allah angin North Sea sangat kuat dan sejuk. Tu baru spring time, belom betul2 tgh season high sea swell lagi tuh.. Gile ah.. Berderau jugak darah ni bile terfikir kot2 terjatuh dalam laut ke. Choiiii lagi aku ni!!!! Sorry takde gambar kat luar sbb gelap, and also takut camera terlepas dr tangan sbb angin kuat sangat. Boley gitu?

OK then. I'll continue on with the stories after we reached Hoek van Holland and masuk ke Amsterdam pulak. Yeah Amstee, here we come!!!!