A Not So Snowy Winter! (Winter Trip Post)

Well hello! Now that I'm back in Moscow, I guess it's obligatory to write/post about my winter break? Well sure why not.

But hey! If you're here for the photos(which are edited and posted way earlier that this post) and not for the reading that may bore you, click the link below:

click me!

Okay and I know I may or may not have to address this, but I guess I should la to avoid unnecessary comments or whatnot. Bcs I've been doing A LOT of self-promos lately and idk if it's like kinda annoying to ppl? Bcs I promote my travelogue, my sc etc etc but hey the reason for that is because I really want other people to like, see what I see, and feel what I feel. I mean it's not about the attention ke apa tho (but hey what's so bad about a little attention am i right). Plus like a senior of mine once told me that the best thing to do after travelling is tell people about it, as in so that they can learn new things that you've learnt along the way, so I guess that's why I'm here, typing this. Right, leggo!

My winter trip is not as cool as everybody else's tbh, I have friends that went to like everywhere around Europe and my winter trip was more like a chill and relax kinda thing so I didn't cover as much places as them but I still covered some places (UK basically). So my trip can be divided into 5 parts, which are Greenwich, Paris, Manchester, Cardiff and London.

The first part is Greenwich, starting on the 26th of January and okaaaaay the first part was pretty stressful to me tbh, because I went on this winter trip solo, without friends, I mean because I was sure it's safe + it's only UK and not like other non-english-speaking countries ke apa en. So like I arrived in Gatwick Airport in London, around 10 pm, and I had to get to Greenwich(which is pronouced as Grenitch) before 12 am and I literally had no idea how to get there so here's my Tip #1: DON'T GET THE FLIGHT TIX WHERE YOU ARRIVE LATE AT NIGHT, YOU'LL BE IN A RUSH AND IT WON'T BE NICE. So with my rucksack at my back, I went to the tix counter to buy an Oyster card(which is a card people use to commute from one place to another but ONLY in London) but the guy said they were sold out and I had to buy a different ticket to Victoria(a station in London that's the easiest to get to Greenwich) so ok I paid 17pounds( I couldn't find the L pound symbol on my keyboard so) kot and then I RODE THE WRONG TRAIN smh hahaha supposedly there are two tix, one cheap and one expensive and the expensive one is 19pounds so I rode that one and arrived and bila nak keluar I couldn't get out but the great thing about the UK is that they have a specialised counter for people like me (yg tak cukup bayar tix) so ok la bayar. Then went to a tix counter to buy my Oyster card and the girl(this is the first time I spoke to a girl with a british accent and I was in awe kejap) explained everything and gave me a small tube map and told me to get to like this station that leads to Greenwich directly via train that is not the tube la kan haha. But when I get to that station there was no more direct train to Greenwich!!!!!!!!! I was freaking out and it was like 12 already. So I walked around and found a taxi place so no choice but to take the taxi to my hostel. And the fee was 8 pounds(which is OK in my friend's opinion? idk) so yea I checked in at 2am, masuk bilik time semua tengah tidur terus terbaring kat katil (thank god my bed was the bottom bunk) and the first day ended. It wasn't that well but it was okay in the end.

I just realised I finished typing the first day and it was already a long read hahahaha ok I'll try to shorten the other days alright the second day, I went to Warner Bros Studio Tour (or aka Harry Potter Tour) and that was greeeeeeeeeat!!! Had lots of fun, plus I was getting better at understanding how the tube works and I spent a lot of money on transportation tbh(regardless of having the Oyster card) so here's Tip #2: if you're thinking of taking walks or hanging out in LONDON, make sure to stay and get a hostel IN LONDON, BUKAN FAR AWAY LIKE GREENWICH so you don't have to pay for the train tix to get to London, and back. That'll actually save a lot tbh. I learned that the hard way, so the next day, I didn't went to London, instead I strolled along the roads of Greenwich and it was great, plus I didn't use a pence(pretty much like cent) for transport bcs I just walked. And by golly(lol), there were a LOT of bookshops there and the surrounding is so peaceful. So spent the whole day there. On the 29th, I checked out and went to London for my second part of the trip: Paris. Oh but before we get there, you might be wondering "wow but Azzally what did you ate there" okay first thing first I hope you will not judge me at the way I use my money for food, and second I ate only halal or non-meat/chicken(which is kinda sad but ya you gotta do what you gotta do), on the 27th, I ate a big plate of nachos with three different dips (sour cream, guacamole(which is vege ok) and salsa I think) and ok la bole tahan la kenyang sikit bcs they served a lot of em. On the 28th when I went for the stroll, I found my first ever halal fast food restaurant, omg but I didn't remember the name tho, I bought chicken drumsticks, wings and fries and that filled me up and made me happy bcs in Moscow I always have a hard time finding/eating fast food chicken haha.

29th, I went to London, and walked(more like tawaf-ed) around the London bridge, because I had to waste time first before meeting Dalilah, and around 2 pm, I gave up and went to King Cross station and waited around three hours for her, I mean it wasn't her fault tho, I chose to gave up early bcs the weather was cold and very windy (cold, I can handle, windy, I can handle, but cold and windy? nah fam) so while I waited I bought a shrimp sandwich from Marks & Spencer omg that shop tbh why tak pernah jumpa in moscow ergh they sell food! (ok I just googled M&;S food outlet and there's one in Kievskaya so ok moving on haha). So when I finally met Dalilah, we went for dinner! Earlier before the trip, Fadie promised me that we would have dinner at Burgers & Lobsters in Cardiff, but Dalilah at that time also like "ok let's go for B&L because you never had lobsters!" and tbh I really did wanted to eat lobster ever since Iqah(my friend dkt uni) posted a photo of her eating lobster so I was like ok maybe I can eat lobster twice I'm up for that but turns out the one we went, was far away and we had to like wait 40 minutes before we can be seated, which was a bummer because before that, we went to this Ukelele shop and Dalilah bought her first ever Uke! Achievement Unlocked! But gladly Dalilah had a backup plan if we couldn't eat at B&L, which is to eat at a halal restaurant nearby called TinselTown and tada, the restaurant was literally two shops after the B&L, yay! So that day I ate burger, tak ingat ayam ke daging, but it was great ergh I love halal foods yang senang jumpa hahha. Then we went to Asilah's and then we'll start the second part of the trip! Bapak lama to get there haha.

So here's the second part; Paris! Once we were at Asilah's, we cooled down and discussed whatever that needed to be discussed (like travel insurance WHICH we didn't need AT ALL but ya better safe than sorry wtvr) and by 4 am, we went to the airport for France. We arrived at Paris around 9-ish? And there was a driver waiting bcs we haven't figured out the transportation system atm. So bila sampai, checked into our apartment and waited for like an hour, bcs we thought Maxim(the owner of the apartment) was going to meet us but he didn't (after I called and confirmed everything) so then we just went out and ate lunch(I ate like a italian-ish dish with fish) and then we went to Musee d'Orsay (where normally students yg studying in Europe can enter foc SO I HAD TO PAY WHILE DORG DONT zz) but ya the museum's great, I enjoyed the art there. I mean frankly, if I were to go holiday with my friends from my uni la kan, idt we'd be going into the museum at all haha no offense bcs I'd do the same thing gak. Then we strolled at the shops dkt dgn our apartment. And we bought mamee instant noodles yg halal so dinner dah settled dah by that time!

The next day, we picked up Fadie from the airport(after figuring out the directions and all) and regarding the tickets for commuting from one place to another, ini confusing sikit (a lot actually bcs sampai nak balik tu pun ktrg mcm lost gak), so supposedly the guy yg dkt counter tu explained, that there are two types of tickets, either yg daily, which is around 7 euros kot, or like 10 trips sekali, total around 12 euros. yg daily tu faham faham la kan its just one ticket but can use in the center of Paris unlimited times. But we took the 10 trips, bcs we didn't really felt like commuting via train everywhere?? So we bought 2 10 trips, so that boleh bahagi 5 sorang la, for 4 people. And then things get weird, because for that one day, we used the same one ticket, over and over again. Forealz doe. Like what, three times kot? And we were like ??????? Haha. So after picking up Fadie, we went to The Louvre and took photosssssss (as usual la tourists kan) and then we went inside the Louvre(which is a museum fyi, and ada dalam cerita Da Vinci Code??) ya and again EQUALITY FOR ALL STUDENTS bcs here all the students studying in UK/Europe can enter the museum for free while I could not, I had to pay, again. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it but omg terasa laa when you're the only person yang have to pay.... Ok so the museum is waaay bigger than the one yg Musee d'Orsay tu, and here you're allowed to take photos, so yay(?), After the Louvre, we went to see Arc de Triomphe, the place where I remember Madeline pernah lalu dulu I guess haha. And OOH Tip #3: Before you go and take a selfie/photograph near like tourist attraction places la kan such as AdT ni, be very careful of like clowns, or birdwhisperers etc etc, bcs if you take photos with them, they'll charge you. I mean supposedly it's like ikhlas or whatever but NO, they'll wait until like you've tipped them around 1 euro by then they'll leave you alone. So my advice is be careful la not to take photos of them, and masa ktrg lagi teruk, this clown, photobombed us, and wanted money bcs he was in the photo with us and I was like........ Srsly I'll never fall for that again. So after Arc de Triomphe, we went to Les Champs Elysees, which is basically Oxford Street la, macam jalan panjang antara a main road, where there are lots of shops/restaurant/cafes. And we end up having lunch/dinner at this Halal-idk-what-kind of restaurant, we ordered Shawarma and the bill was kinda pricey but it wasnt bcs of the food, it was bcs of the drink... mineral je pun... So then jalan some more and Asilah and Fadie went inside this macaron cafe! I don't remember the name tapi supposedly it's the most known one la bcs Fadie was like "this was the whole point of my trip!!" when we found the shop, too bad me and Dalilah didn't buy any bcs Dalilah wasn't into them bcs too sweet and I haven't withdrawn money yet sobs. After the stroll, we went to the same shopping center we went yesterday and went home. Dinner cam biasa ah mamee instant noodles sbb dah spend byk on lunch haha.

The last day in Paris, we we're kinda in a rush, to go out and get back home before 3pm because we we're supposed to be in the airport around 4:30pm camtu?? So Asilah made scrambled eggs and siap siap kemas barang semua then went out, we walked to the Eiffel Tower, yep walked there! Then we bought the tickets to the top of the tower and was amazed ah bcs it was amazing! And by the time we were at the top it was windy gila and it kinda snowed a little so boleh tahan sejuk beb haha. Oh and syukur alhamdulillah the tix tu harga dia reduced bcs we were students and they're not CHOOSY MCM THE OTHER PLACES/MUSEUMS and they even gave the discount for students who are not studying in UK/Europe, so thank you. Thank you for restoring my faith in France haha. After Eiffel, we decided to hit the cafe, bcs earlier, that was main mission, tp end up going sightseeing byk so atleast kena la spend dkt cafe once before heading back, and the cafe was great, I ordered hot double chocolate and crepe(which tastes amazing!!!!!!!!!) and then we rushed home, and head to Charles de Gaulle airport and flew back to Luton. Oh Tip #4: there are like LOTS of beggars dkt Eiffel, so be careful la, and the pickpockets sana pun terror gak, my brother-in-law told me his friend, had this pouch bag in the front, pun barang boleh hilang tsk. But alhamdulillah la nothing happened to us. So be careful la kalau ada perempuan muda muda datang kat hang "excuse me can you speak english" bcs semua tu scams je ok. Alright let's move on to the third part of my trip!

The next part is Manchester! So from Luton airport (oh btw when we were in Charles de Gaulle airport, and Luton airport, they have piano for people to play with there, how cool is that!!!!!!!!) we went back to Asilah's in Victoria, where I met Azran! But for a few mins je, then we went out for dinner, and went back to Asilah's to take my things, and they sent me to Victoria Coach Station bcs I'll be going to Manchester by bus(MegaBus that is, cheap). So after a little complication(where I don't have internet on my phone and IDK how to contact my friend in Manchester when I get there, but problem solved la bcs I used my malaysian number to call a cab and head to the friend's place), I board the bus and for six hours, I guess I sat in the bus. So long story short I arrived at my friends' house (Radin and Safia) and terus like cool down and went to bed.

The next day, they showed me the way to the city via walking (bcs jimat cermat + easier to process the surroundings), and I spent the whole day at the city la in the end. And balik rumah, they cooked dinner, which was great! And after dinner we went out for ice cream/waffles WEY SO NICE. Well sadly I arrived there late and I had to go to Cardiff via bus, and the bus departs early so I couldn't spend so much time in Manchester despite the fact that there's so many good food and I still haven't covered any tourists attraction places but what to do, if ada rezeki maybe pergi lagi :>

The next day, I took a cab and sampai dkt Shudehill Interchange and got into my bus and to Cardiff I went! So here's to part four!

Sampai Cardiff around 2pm, and supposedly Fadie said she'd come and pick me up but we had a few misscommunications and Fadie had to stay with someone til Thursday(the day when I leave Cardiff) but hey it's all good tho. Anyway, arrived at Kingsway Station, and Kobe picked me up from there bcs I planned to stay at his place! So firstly we went to this cafe where I ordered Flat White and a chocolate brownie kot, I didn't know wth was a flat white tp it was okay la, it's coffee. Haha. Then balik rumah, settled down and told Kobe that I was gonna explore the city, and I did. But since it was pretty late I couldn't spend a lot of time there bcs the shops we're closing (padahal baru like pkl 7 cmtu) so I ate at this halal fast food restaurant(the same at Greenwich) and went home, where Kobe told me situ tak sedap, and like I should've ate at Wok to Walk or any other wok-based restaurants... OK.

The next day, I went to a lot of places! First I went to Barry Island, and the island is spectacular!!! But there were lots of dogs running so I was kinda freaking out bcs they're kinda like friendly and wanna play with me also but hi no sorry I cannot touch you haha. After spending a few hours there, I went back to Cardiff and went to Cardiff Castle, paid around 12 pounds?? and looked at the historical stuffs etc etc. Then I went to Bute Park, which was very large but I spent a few minutes and went home bcs in the evening me and Kobe went to Burgers and Lobsters for dinner! AND THE LOBSTER WRAP WAS AWESOME ERGH. Then Kobe took me to his uni(main hall practically) and the City Hall I think?? You know the authority place or something. Then we went back and I started packing. My bus leaves the next day at 9am.

So woke up the next day early and got ready and went to the designated bus stop, and checked in the bus headed to London. Arrived at 1:30pm, went to Oxford Street. Supposedly to find the YHA(my asrama) and when I found it, the sign said it's YHA OXFORD STREET AND MINE WAS YHA LONDON CENTAL I FREAKED OUT A LITTLE THAT MOMENT. Therefore, Tip #5: Make sure you're prepared with directions(if you dont have internet on-the-go) AND MAKE SURE THE DIRECTION GOES TO THE RIGHT PLACE OK. So I looked around and spotted a Starbucks, went in, bought a coffee and used the net and found the way and after checking in YHA LC, I went to do the laundry (which costed around 4 pounds sheesh) and oH THE WIFI HERE I TELL YOU they only have wifi at the lobby or kitchen or laundry room, I cant get internet in my room. So I spent the day by hanging out in my room, and went to Waterstones bookstore and bought two books for home. I swear I forgot I had for dinner that day... I think I just ate a big plate of cheesy french fries haha.

The next morning, I went to The British Museum (looked at the exterior) and The British Library, where I met my brother-in-law there, Along sent me stuffs and he's like the medium and by then I was stocked with food til the end of the trip!! Went back home and quickly made lunch (nasi lemak + curry ayam) hahahaha omg it was great tbh. 

7th February, I strolled in Oxford Street and Trafalgar Square, looking for bookshops. I found Fowles near Trafalgar Sq, and another Waterstone at Trafalgar Sq. Then meet up with Mohsein and Azran at the Marble Arch. Accompanied them to Primark (Azran wanted to find new jeans) and then went to Hyde Park, which is just a hugeeee empty park but idk maybe bcs it's winter??? Then we had dinner at this kedai arab, eating shawarma and drinking fruit juice haha. 

The last day in London, I spent it again at Oxford Street and Trafalgar, but this time I walked slower and enjoyed everything more in detail. And it occured to me that time that I was supposed to watch Big Hero 6 tapi the nearest cinema didn't have them :( And I ate lots gak ah, sorbet, waffles, starbucks etc etc. Probs bcs I was going home soon and I'll be missing these coffeeshop breaks sigh. 

9th February. I flew home. Tip #6: depending on which airline you take, I can tell you about EasyJet, they allow you only ONE handcarry bag, so if you have a rucksack as a handcarry, and you have a handbag or a camera bag, they WILL ASK YOU to put the bags into one. So make sure you're always on your toes for this. Though the weight of the bag isn't stated, there are limitations to the size you can bring on the plane.

TLDR; WINTER TRIP WAS FUN. I HAD FUN. FUN FUN FUN DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK, BUT I WENT BACK, BCS LIFE.

so like in conclusion, I kinda like wing it a lot of times there but I'm okay, so I've pretty much changed la from the trip

Thanks for visiting! :)