Winter Break 2012 - Day 1 and Day 2 (Egypt-London)

It has been awhile since I last updated my blog entry, so, here I want to share my experience throughout my journey to Europe last winter break.

and to tell you Sitti, it really gonna be 13 entries all together, but I don't think I may find such diligence 

but I will try my best to deliver my story to fulfil your satisfaction, ok?

so, let's start from the 1st day

Day1 - 27th of Jan 2012

This is our beginning of the journey. Start from Mansoura and ended in Cairo.

We need to stop first dekat rumah Syahira cause our flight will be the next morning, by whatever means, 

kene sampai airport pagi-pagi kot.

Since we decided nak buat backpacking travel, 

jadi we ended up with one backpack or to be precised: a laptop bag and a sling bag for each person

If you want to know the details for the preparation of backpacking travel, I'm gonna explain it later k.

For the time being, I will only post about the journey only.

Then we headed ourselves to Maadi - kire macam Bukit Antarabangsa or Damansara dekat Malaysia la...

sedikit kagum dengan kewujudan tempat ni

sampai2 je, terus pergi Subway where I had my first taste of Subway and macam biasa,

masing2 liat nak balik sebab ade Wifi free

=.='

Staying at Syahirah's house, it felt like being at home.

With her mother yang prepare macam2 Malaysian food (Seri Muka for supper, and Mee Kari for breakfast), 

and her house yang macam ala hotel

and a personal driver yang bawak pergi airport to add the awesomeness...

thanks from the bottom of our hearts

Day 2 - 28th Jan 2012

We were a bit late to Cairo airport actually, tapi Alhamdulillah sempat jugak check-in

and to add the hype,

we met the other Malaysian trio heading to London, but this time, they are from the opposite gender

(can you imagine what crossed our minds that time?)

and because masing-masing macam tak nak duduk sekali, 

so I ended up duduk between this one Egyptian woman and a British man

(I assumed he's from there cause he's like a copycat of Elton John - like seriously!)

and I even thought he was gay...LOL

because of the long distance, I ended up exploring the whole games, movies, dramas and music served...

and to tell you, I was like the only one yang paling gigih main everything even with iPod in my hands

Alhamdulillah, the long awaiting flight akhirnya ended in Heathrow Airport, London.

So, after settling ourselves, we continued our way to Victoria Coach Station.

tak tau la ape motif kan turun dekat situ, but the most reasonable excuse will be:

konon - konon nak explore central London first la

The National Express coach ticket which costs us 5 pounds each

Then, sampai Victoria Coach Station, we were tested with our little patience left:

since we decided to stay at Fizerk's house for the whole 5 days in London, masing - masing macam almost give up cause she didn't answered the call. Even Arine couldn't contribute her best help since she was away in Paris. But, I have to agree, the Londoners were quite helpful. 

Even though we wandered ourselves around Victoria Train Station pon, this one British woman - Ailey (I'm not sure if the name is correctly spelled or not) gigih nak tolong carikkan any available hotels that night.

And the Malaysian girls yang kitorg terserempak pon siap nak tolong provide tempat tidur but not in London la - but Porthsmouth, which will take about 2 hours journey to London.

and masing - masing dah tak tau nak buat apa, sampai ambik keputusan nak duduk hotel around London, but sadly the cheapest one pon costs about 90 pounds PER NIGHT. 

So, after recalculating everything, we ditched the decision and plan tidur dekat McDonald

(selamat duit!) 

Well, rather than wandering around, it looks more like a reunion between me and the guy with the jacket
=.='

but in whatever circumstances pon, we have to make sure our own tummy is happy kan -

so we settled down first in McDonald and had our first meal in London: 

Fillet-O-Fish

yang dulunya hanya dilepas pandang & loya tekak tengok tapi sekarang: 

dah jadi my lifetime favourite

tengah - tengah makan tu la, tiba - tiba dapat call from Fizerk and she was a bit shocked about our current condition. It was actually my fault jugak sebab I typed the wrong date.

Fizerk thought it will be on 29th but we actually sampai on 28th

Alhamdulillah...

everything has been settled, and she even guided us until sampai dekat Langdorn Park. 

and... we had our first lesson of 'Oyster' and London's very own rapid transit system - The London Underground (Tube)

Oyster ni macam 'Touch n Go' in Malaysia and it's the cheapest way to pay for single journeys on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London - it costs 5 pounds and you can top up the extra amount later

A glance of how Victoria Train Station looked like

The London Underground (The Tube) - kira macam Putra LRT in Malaysia 

sampai - sampai Langdorn Park, we were welcomed by Fizerk's housemates: Skin and Najwa yang 

ambik from bus station since Fizerk was absent sebab ade hal kat tempat lain.

and the place we're staying is called Bartlett Close 

Ni actually gambar masa nak tinggalkan London for Liverpool

The place was nice, siap ade satu rumah ni we called it as 'Harry Potter House' because it really looked like an haunted mansion from the outside but there are actually human beings living inside

In front of Harry Potter house

and thanks to Fizerk and housemates, makan sampai x ingat dunia malam tu

hehe...

So...for the next entry, you need to wait

Don't worry, I'm gonna update it later

Just be patient from my slow progression

Travel Advice & Guide

1. It is advisable to buy Oyster card if you're planning to stay in London for many days and using public transports - sebab jimat cause regular price without oyster gonna cost you more

2. Sampai - sampai airport, rajin - rajinkanlah ambik every maps / any pamphlets available. This gonna help you A LOT.

3. Ambiklah jugak map tube/bas tu, cause you can plan your journey effectively and efficiently 

4. DON'T ever be shy to ask people around you, lantak la English bersepah ke, as long as they understand what you're trying to say and respond back, ok la tu

5. If you're out of idea of any Halal food around, try carik any food store like McD yang serve seafood like what we did: Fillet-o-Fish since fast food is accessible 

6. Beli la any available mobile phone line (3, Vodafone, Orange, O2, etc) kalau ade anyone yang nak contact around UK because roaming seriously gonna cost you a lot

7. Nak solat senang je, mana - mana pon boleh as long as bersih even in fitting room pon boleh. First you have to carik ape angle qiblat dekat London and search waktu solat dekat Islamicfinder.com. Siapa yang ada hp canggih tu boleh la download application yang ade kompas siap. 

8. Duit nak keluar depends... 300 pounds will be enough to stay in UK for 7 days (termasuk personal shopping, souvenier, fee nak masuk tourist attraction places) at least for ktorg la, ni pon kalau ade tempat nak stay kat sane