First time to Europe (Part 2)

Ticket to Brighton.

The third day is my favorite place of all in my whole trip , it is Brighton . The city is built beside the sea ( English Channel) and with lots of beach activities in the summer . The place not only offers a place to bargain for cheap foodstuffs and also a place for sightseeing . I noticed that when I was in one of the shoe stores , the Nike shoe was as low as 19 pounds ,but I didn’t buy it. The royal pavilion was a stunning landmark for the place . At first I thought I was seeing a mosque in UK , if there is one that’s really eye pooping . I still remember a recording of video on the beach , I was standing on the beach (usually in Malaysia the beach is full of sands but here the beach is full with small stones-pebbles ) . The feeling of standing on the pebbles was uncomfortable at all . It was like doing the reflexology , walking on the pathway of pebbles to improve your blood circulation.
All in all , I like this place very much is maybe because it has a beautiful pier which is called Brighton Pier and the city is built beside the sea just like Penang .


Relaxing at the Brighton beach.


'Sun-bathing' at the Brighton Pier.


Royal Pavilion behind me.


Shopped at Primark!


The fourth day , we took it slow and easy . We went to Guildford by car and we parked our car at the park & ride area to go to the town by bus. We were quite surprised by the fact that Alice and the Wonderland story was created by a citizen of the town backed in a few centuries ago. The author was a educator from Oxford . We spotted some of the statues depicted the story –Alice and the white and also Alice in the mirror.


Guildford town.


Alice and the white rabbit.


Inspired by 'you know who' . Alice in the mirror statue.

I still remember we followed the historical trail to the inner and outer parts of the Guildford town . And lost in a small slope when we missed the turning after walking into a small park . The small arch which we supposed to turn into was under renovation and we missed it .



The Superdry leather jacket wore by David Beckham.

As it was around 6 p.m. the sun was still bright in the sky but the shops were closed . While walking to the bus stop, we were approached by a lady to give her 50 pence in order to make a phone call. When we reached the bus stop , the same lady again asked us for 50 pence with the same reason. Sigh….

The fifth day , we went to the capital of UK which is London. I was impressed by the rapid connection of public transportation between towns and cities . The Oyster card which costs 3 pounds like the Touch N Go in Malaysia , can be used in every underground stations. First thing in the morning , we went to see the change of guards at Buckingham Palace after we alighted from Hyde Park Corner underground. And we made our way to buy the tonight’s ticket to the Lion King – a theatre show . After that we went walked along the Thames river to see the Big Ben , parliament building , Downing street – prime minister’s office, Tate museum , the Millennium bridge , St.Paul Cathedral .


Inside the theather, watching Lion King.

After that we went to watch the Lion King Musical , the musical was awesome and with the transformation of the stage between a multi stories platform to a single platform , the acting of the casts and the sound effects – all are very perfectly performed .


I met this two guys from a park next to Thames River , they are touring around UK to finish their painting on the banner cloth.


We both drew it together. As to promote Penang.


Big Ben is behind me!


Waiting for so long under the summer's sun , outside Buckingham Palace.


Tate Museum ( Previously was a generator place)


The sixth day was also touring around London. First thing in the morning , we were lining up for the entry into the Madamn Tussauds Wax Museum. The place was full of wax superstars from the legendary pop stars –The beatles to the most celebrated politician –Mr Obama . We took lots of photos and enjoyed the ride of ‘history of London ‘ and also ‘the Haunted house’ . I have never encountered before a real people dressing themselves as ghosts and scares you when you reached them . It was a very new experience to me.


At King Cross Station, Pushing Trolley ....


At Camden Lock.


Sadam Hussien's wax figure.


Jack Sparrow with us!

After the lunch , we went Camden Lock , this is where the place we overheard 2 Penangnites talking to each other in Hokkien , they were sellers at the local ‘pasar malam’ . Sign……
We visited Oxford street for some shopping in Primark and also checking out the correct model of Nike shoes in the largest Nike store which fit me . And it is the stability range shoes fit me most .
And later , we went to Piccadilly Circus and also Leichester Square to see the place where movie premier is usually held. Next we went to Chinatown . And finally the Trafalgar Square . At that time there is a live open air theater sponsored by BP.
We reached for a red double decker bus to take us to Victoria Station before heading Southern to Redhill .


The Final day arrived , and i decided to do my last minutes shopping at the Oxfordshire , this is a place where most renowed brands have its outlet here . I spotted a very nice Clarks shoes selling for only 7.50 pounds = RM42 . I was very convinced that this place is really a bargain to most of the shoppers .


Bichester Village's information centre.


Bichester Village has a lot of outlets , to name a few , Calvin Klein,Dior, Burberry , Clarks.


Last photo we took before I left.Thanks !

After we shopped till the shops closed at 7 p.m. , I was sent by Victor to the Heathrow Terminal 3 airport for 10.00 p.m. flight back home. I have never been on MH 1 which is an exclusive number to me .
I really appreciate whose people who helped me throughout the journey . Thank you very much to you all! As the English people said ; Cheers!

First time to Europe! (Part 1)

This is not the first time I travelled alone to a foreign land , the last time I visited a foreign land was the end of 2007 .
Actually it all started when I knew about the holiday in May 2009. That’s where I started my plan for my holiday . Before I plan , I decided to visit Japan once more but due to tight schedule of my friends , so I made my plan to UK.


Victor was very kind enough to accommodate me throughout the whole journey of my tour in UK . I had visited most part of south western England , including Oxford , Brighton, Guildford, Bath, Salisbury , Winsor and last but not least London.
My first impression of UK is a place of historical and full of fascinating sights including nature . There are vast differences including language and people if you compared it with Japan. Japan has lots of metropolitan cities with vibrant lifestyle . Whereas , England is a serene place with a mixed of nature and history . I felt a sense of security when I saw English words around but not in Japan. The direction of signs are written in English .


Oxford is on my first day ‘s travel list . I was delighted to be told earlier that Oxford is a place where Harry Potter movie was shot . The bodleian library and the dining hall in one of the colleges . The place has still preserved with its authenticity and the surrounding area of the colleges was surrounded by parks and streams. I was mesmerized by the intricate designs etched into the colored glass inside the cathedral. But Victor told me that I will be seeing more cathedral in my trip. It was such an English way of life , while sitting on the grass under a tree ,eating my lunch from Boots and looking at the happenings around the river .


The next day was the most hectic of all , we jointed a local tour agency called premium tours . The day trip brought us to Winsor Castle , Stonehedge and Bath . I was stunned by the exterior of the Winsor Castle , it looks magnificent . And one of the items I wanted to highlight was the Queen Mary ‘s doll house . I noticed the servants’ room was just as nice as the peasant room in the past . Every detail was made in a doll scale with high perfection in the workmanship .


Stonehedge was a place near to Salisbury and the placement of the stones were few metres away from the road . While standing in the field next to stonehedge , the horizon is endless with agriculture land . The formation of the stone was somehow unique to me . Every angle you looked into the formation , you will notice the differences. I still remember I asked one of the Japanese tourists to take a picture . And they were surprised and asked are we Japanese . ……Are we looked like Japanese? Haha ..


The last trip of the day was to the Bath which is a few miles away from Wales and Bristol. The roman bath was the center of attraction , for our tour we were given a guided tour by ‘Roman Soldier’ . He has a sense of humour in the way he speaks. We were late to meet up the group in front of the Roman Bath because I was looking at the souvenirs . We ran the whole way from a toilet inside a departmental store to meet up with the group. The small city has its beauty on the architecture and also the Roman culture.