London Trip, 2011 - Part 3

1. Today we started of at the London Bridge. We got out of the tube near the Tower of London. Didn't go there though. Tower of London is where the Crown Jewel is kept. Also a world heritage site i.e: ada entrance fee nak masuk, i.e: tak masuk le. Before walking down the bridge, we bought postcard to sent back to Malaysia. We mailed it at the post box at the foot of the bridge. Sampai jugak postcard. Very refreshing walk... until we met a couple in the middle of the bridge that wanted us to take their picture. After that, my sister suddenly realizes that she had lost her glove. Hahahha the whole day dia kata couple tu yg try nak cilok barang dia.



2. Next on the agenda was supposed to be London's Tate Modern. We took a bus that actually pass thru the London Dungeon and London's Eye. Snap photos from the bus je la. As usual, we missed the stop. The sign said Tate Modern with an arrow pointing straight ahead. Ingatkan the next stop, rupanya tidak. Maka pusing2 la naik bus. We ended up at Covent Garden. Ada market selling knick knack paddy whack and fruits and stuff. Nature calls pulak. Nasib ada toilet. My sister went and bought a box of strawberry's for 1 pound. Sedap gila. Makan banyak lagi kang nak pi toilet la pulak.
So where to next? Malas pulak nak patah balik cari Tate Modern tadi. My sister suggest that we should check out Traffalgar Square during the day plak. Plus there's art musuem there as well. Tetiba ternampak pulak ada M&S kat situ, and I said NO! Or else we wll never finish the sight seeing.



3. We went into the National Portrait Gallery next. Partly sebab nak terkench lagi. But suddenly rasa macam best pulak. We sort of skip thru the place sebab bukan kenal sangat pun tah sape-sape orang-orang tu. The building was old yet very beautiful. Aku macam mesmerized kejap. Of course we spend more time at the gift shop other than any place kan. Tapi terasa la macam cultured campur ala-ala poyo kejap.



4. Next to the place is the National Gallery, London. If the Portrait Gallery had me charmed, yang ni totally blew me away! Terubat frust tak jumpa Tate Modern tadi. I shall blog separately about this. Seriously best gila! I could spend months in there (which is bull... but I will tell you about it later). The best part it's free! Those who plan to come to London, should stop by here. I have to say this place is one of the highlights of my holiday. Writing about it brings me back fond memories... sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

5. Sekarang sudah lapar. And we don't know where else to go but Jom Makan which is just next door to the gallery. How cool is that. Siap ada lunch buffet for 6.50 pound per person. Apa lagi. Mari melantak kawan-kawan!

6. Lepas tu, we walked to Trafalgar Square again. Dekat je. Nak ambik gambar dengan singa time terang plak. Ni la hasilnya attempt kitaorang nak masukkan singa and muka kitaorg berdua jugak. Jeles aku budak kecik tu dapat duduk dgn singa tu. Nak panjat tak larat!





7. Lepas tu it was back to Oxford Street to pay real homage to M&S. Shop till kedai tutup. Kejayaan hari ini ialah light coat yang super cool. Boleh la melaram esok. Punya la penat. Nasib ada cafe yang boleh duduk lepak. Sempat plak belasah hot chocolate yang sangat lazat penuh berkrim. And it comes with this super sweet thing call biscuit Curls (the brown thingy on the saucer). Deep it in...Sadap wa cakap lu.



8. That night, we went to try the nearby Fish and Chips. Fish and Chips yang dimasak oleh bangla. Hahaha. Besar gedabak portion dia. Yang aku punya tu macam sekor ikan. Terpengsan nak habiskan.

Blues at The Bridge!

Let the pictures do the talking:

Outside the stadium compound. Managed to get a tour in. The next day is a match with Man City and Chelsea won!

Leading to the musuem

Get to take a peek into the press room

The changing room is pretty bare. Hmm...

My favorite, the walk out to the pitch. Siap ada bunyi crowd tu.

This is the sight that greet us outside the tunnel. Wuhooo!

Where the special one use to sit ;)

Me, all smiley

Shed End, entrace for the visiting team supporters.

May Chelsea will be Champions again!

London Trip, 2011 - Part 2

London - Day 2

1. First stop today is Big Ben. Which is the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster which is also known as House of Parliament, along the River of Thames. We got out from the tube a little bit disoriented and looked around wondering where the heck we were. La rupanya dah sampai at Big Ben. Hahahah. We caught the clock chiming at 9am. Apa lagi, posing time.




2. 300 shots later, we made our way to Westminster Abbey where the Royal wedding took place. Dekat aje tapi kitaorg pusing-pusing sebab confuse tengok map. If masuk Amazing Race, definitely the first team to get kicked out.




3. 500 shots and counting, we walked towards Buckhingham Palace. Thru St. James Park. Konon nak menikmati the blooming flowers, instead we walked on the outside sebab the park is full of dogs. Finally reached the Palace and book a spot for the changing of the guards. Punyalah ramai orang. We found ourselves facing the main gate at the center and we are at the front. This doesn't happen often. Selalunya gagal la kan. OMG... memang nak give up dah pun. We stood there for 2 hours! Rupanya start around 12 mcm tu. Nak pengsan ok. Dah la tak makan.



And guess what, the ceremony took place in the palace compound, behind the gate. Tak nampak apa pun. Dapat la tengok guards marched in and out aje. Pastu ada la policeman yang patroling around the crowd blocking the view. Cist kau, Mr Plod. But he did gave everyone reminders about pick pockets. Aku pun dah boleh hafal line dia. That's how long we were there.



Finally it's showtime! I set my DSLR on multiple shot mode. Kalah paparazi. Tah berapa juta frame aku shoot kat situ aje. Memang la takde apa sangat benda tu. But if you are ever in London, do catch it once. Kalau orang tanya, boleh la cakap dah pernah pergi. The guard wore grey due to the cold weather. The red ones are for summer.



4. Arghh finally that was over. We rushed off to Chelsea sebab dah book tour. Hehe. This will be a posting on it's own. Can't believed that I actually made it to Stamfod Brigde.

5. After Chelsea, it was almost 5 kot. Still tak makan. I managed to grab some chunky fries or they call it chips while my sister went to kench. We don't want to get on the tube since it's tiring to go down the staircases. So opted to take a bus. Best siot! We sat on the top deck, camera ready. Nasib we got on the right direction. The bus pass thru the uber glam Chelsea/ Kensington area..berangan lagi. Then passed the Victoria and Albert musuem..."eh I want to go there tapi dah terlepas.." then the bus made a turn and up ahead is... Harrods. Turun turun. Nasib sempat.... but only to find it packed with human from every nook of the planet. Ramai gila. Tak larat nak tengok semua benda. Kat 1st floor lagi dah gagal. Tapi sempat la beli magnet. Hehehe.



6. Then we hop on the same number bus again. Heading towards Oxford Circus. Next on agenda is to visit this sports outlet at Oxford Circus, namanya Lilywhites. Sungguh suci nama itu. Suci dan tenang. NOT! It's a 6 floor crippling madness! Ok cripple part tu ialah aku. Nak tau rasanya macam mana? Challenge yourselves climbing 6 sets of staircases, carrying loads of stuff (including the 3 big bags that you just pull out from Chelsea Megastore), while holding your pee and being hungry at the same time. Tadi eksyen tak nak kencing.

Only with the last burst of adrenalin and a fleeting courage from my shopping demon that I managed to pull this thru. Serious macam nak kena renal failure. Kononnya nak beli jersey and cari running spike. Of course it had to be on the top floor la kan. Pastu stress sebab banyak sangat barang-barang best tapi aku tak berdaya nak tengok. Bila bercakap dgn orang pun aku dah memang menjerit-jerit macam orang gila (sebenarnya nak tahan kencing and tempat ni takde toilet!). Lagi gila bila kakak aku sibuk pulak nak beli boots (yang OMYGOD kat Malaysia pun dia dah ada, tapi haram tak pakai). Tah boots tu pun nak pakai pergi mana lepas ni. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR... nasib ada tempat nak duduk. Pergi la cari boot ke terompah ke capal ke apa tah yang dia nak beli.

Bior menyosal boli jangan menyosal tak boli!

7. When we got out, dah gelap dah. Dapat la ambik gambar kat Oxford Circus. Pastu ingat nak tengok West End show tapi dah lambat sangat plak. So kitaorg pun jalan la thru the west end area.. ingat nak cari bas nak balik... 30 mins later, we found ourselves outside this restaurant that says 'Jom Makan'. Allah telah memperkenankan doa aku. It's a Malaysian restaurant! Yipee. Next to the National Art Gallery. Tah sape la ownernya. Dapat la duduk dengan tenang. And yang paling penting, never in my life, I'm so thrill to find a toilet! It's warm and cosy!!! Hahahahah. Setelah menunaikan hajat, makan pulak beryani lamb, baru la batery recharged!




8. Jalan pulak ke Trafalgar Square and photo ops with the huge Lion Statue. Semua orang macam fit gila boleh panjat naik statue tu. Aku nak jalan pun tak larat, sorry la nak panjat memanjat ye. Gambar rupa macam haram sebab gelap.

9.ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................

London Trip, 2011 - Part 1

London - Day 1.

Arrived in London in the afternoon. Took the train with our big ass luggage in tow. I shall not bore you on the details of lugging the luggage around the many many staircases in the depths of London. Suffice to say, aku macam borderline nak nangis dan menyesal bawak barang banyak.

First nak kena check in hotel dulu. We booked ourselves into one of the cheap bed and breakfast along terrace. We got down at Paddington station. Looks easy eh. Not when u discovered that there's 5 different exit to choose from. Once on the street level, we lost of bearing totally. The 10 minutes walk jadi 20 minutes walk. And it was drizzling. Grrr.

Finally we arrived at the hotel. When I say hotel I meant the cupboard under the stairs. We were first offerred a 'super nice' room at the top floor. You will love it (my ass!). Top floor = attic. Top floor = climbing endless staircases. Ya rabbi, staircase punya la curam and sempit. Ingat one flight je. Dah sampai the first landing, eh tak naik lagi.. dan lagi.. dan lagi. Till dah naik tangga yg kecik aje mcm nak masuk reban ayam pulak. Setibanya di puncak gunung everest itu, si mamat penjaga hotel serta merta dianugerahkan darjah kebesaran pulau keb*b**n. Kerana statement2 dia yang sangat cheebs. 1. "I can see that you are going to have problem climbing up the stairs" (he said that to my huffing and puffing face!)
2. Masa nak turun, boleh dia cakap dengan aku, "Excuse, can I go first...". Dah la tangga tu muat aku je. Nak pulak dia menyelit. Nasib aku tak tolak dia ke bawah. Or worst aku pulak yang tergolek 3 tingkat ke bawah.

So we settled with the small room on the same floor as the lobby. Small as in kena take turn nak bukak luggage masing-masing. Small as in nak pergi toilet, sorang kena lompat duduk atas katil for the other to manuver jalan macam ketam nak bergerak. Small as in.. oh well you get the drift. Come and think of it (if nak kira exchange rate), itulah hotel paling mahal pernah aku bayar dlm sejarah kehidupan. If I pay that kind of money elsewhere ie kat Msia, aku dapat duduk 2 bilik agaknya. Satu bilik khas utk aku berak and satu lagi khas untuk aku tido.

But the Paddington area is great. Senang nak cari halal food. We had curry and fish and chips. Even found a fast food shop that serves rice and lamb chop. Nasib tak jumpa the shop earlier. If tak mati aku hari2 belasah lamb aje. Also tempat tu rupanya dekat dengan Imperial College London as well as St Mary Hospital. Tempat Prince Wills beranak dulu. Pagi-pagi jalan kat area tu nice la with the flowers blooming. Berangan jangan tak berangan.






Right settled check in. Now what? Kakak aku yang bawak everything but the kitchen sink nak beli jacket pulak. Though so plan for shopping today, that's exactly what we did. Dari Marks and Spencer ke Gap ke tah apa benda lagi. Aku macam terpegun kejap menengok Food Market kat M&S. They have chocolate popcorn! And raspberry 2 box for 1 pound. Assortment of biscuits. And did I mentioned chocolate popcorn? It was raining the whole evening that day. So all sight seeing went out the window. Balik room terus terbongkang.

Itu Patutnya Saya (heheh)

This just in. I like this song very much. I'm now a teen bopper fan. This is a mindless entry.

That Should Be Me - Justin Bieber/ Rascal Flatts

Everybody's laughing in my mind
Rumors spreading 'bout this other guy

Do you do what you did, what you did with me?
Does he love you the way I can?
Did you forget all the plans that you made with me?
'Cause baby, I didn't

That should be me holding your hand
That should be me making you laugh
That should be me, this is so sad
That should be me, that should be me

That should be me feeling your kiss
That should be me buying you gifts
This is so wrong, I can't go on
'Til you believe that that should be me
That should be me

You said you needed a little time for my mistakes
It's funny how you use that time to have me replaced
Did you think that I wouldn't see you out at the movies?
Whatcha doing to me?

You're taken' him where we used to go
Now if you're trying to break my heart
It's working 'cause you know

That, that should be me holding your hand
That should be me making you laugh
That should be me, this is so sad
That should be me, that should be me

That should be me feeling your kiss
That should be me buying you gifts
This is so wrong, I can't go on
'Til you believe that should be me

I need to know should I fight for our love or disown?
It's getting harder to shield this pain in my heart, ooh

That should be me holding your hand
That should be me making you laugh
That should be me, this is so sad
That should be me, that should be me

That should be me feeling your kiss
That should be me buying you gifts
This is so wrong, I can't go on
'Til you believe that that should be me, ooh

Holding your hand, that should be me
The one making you laugh, oh baby
Oh, that should be me, yeah

That should be me, giving you flowers
That should be me, talking for hours
That should be me, that should be me
That should be me

Never should've let you go
I never should've let you go
That should be me
Never should've let you go
That should be me

Never should've let you go
Never should've let you go
That should be me

I dedicate the song to the following. Hahaha.

33rd time's the charm!

2011, Birthday no 33. Looks pretty cool, but celebration is kept at bay (at least till the weekend heheh). Then again it's still 8am :P. Bercakap macam all birthdays were celebrated like Sweet16 on MTV. Hahahah. It's just like any other day I suppose.

Do you still remember all of your birthdays all these years? Where you were, what you did, what you ate, who you celebrated with, yada yada yada... I can't even remember my birthday last year. Had to look it up my own blog. Ohhh rupanya aku kat Qatar. Now I remember, I went for a shopping spree at BHS. Heheheh. So walaupun malas, I shall write something in the blog about my birthday this year... as a reminder for next year.

So what words of wisdom shall I part for my 34th year predecessor?

Well, dear future me, please remember to drink loads of water, cut your credit card spending, for heaven sake please exercise (your 32/33 old self still saying that it's too hot to go jogging outside) and please try to catch Adele and Streophonics live!

Finally I shall post this song, which I have been saying Scotty should sing on AI (which he did, with Tim M nonetheless, yipee), and not just because I think I might be a shotgun trotting, truck driving, possum eating, trailer park living, redneck in my former life (this sudden interest in country songs is a bit menakutkan); it's because I like this song for its simple yet deep lyrics.

Apa aku merepek ni syaitan?!!!

Oh and yes, Khairolinski, Happy Birthday! Sangat best ada 'twin' friend. Heheh. Here's to us working again on our Birthday :(

Live Like You Were Dying (Tim McGraw)

He said I was in my early 40's,
With a lot of life before me,
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
I spent most of the next days, lookin' at the x-rays,
Talkin' 'bout the options and talkin' 'bout sweet time.
Asked him when it sank in, that this might really be the real end.
How's it hit ya, when you get that kind of news.
Man what ya do.
And he says,

[Chorus]

I went sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I've been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.

He said I was finally the husband,
That most the time I wasn't.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all the sudden goin' fishing,
Wasn't such an imposition.
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.
Well I finally read the good book,
And I took a good long hard look at what I'd do
If I could do it all again.
And then.

[Chorus]

Like tomorrow was a gift and you've got eternity
To think about what you do with it,
What could you do with it, what can
I do with with it, what would I do with it.

[Chorus]
Sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I watched an eagle as it was flyin'.
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.

To live like you were dyin'.
To live like you were dyin'.
To live like you were dyin'.
To live like you were dyin'
He said I was in my early 40's,
With a lot of life before me,
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
I spent most of the next days, lookin' at the x-rays,
Talkin' 'bout the options and talkin' 'bout sweet time.
Asked him when it sank in, that this might really be the real end.
How's it hit ya, when you get that kind of news.
Man what ya do.
And he says,

[Chorus]

I went sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I've been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.

He said I was finally the husband,
That most the time I wasn't.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all the sudden goin' fishing,
Wasn't such an imposition.
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.
Well I finally read the good book,
And I took a good long hard look at what I'd do
If I could do it all again.
And then.

[Chorus]

Like tomorrow was a gift and you've got eternity
To think about what you do with it,
What could you do with it, what can
I do with with it, what would I do with it.

[Chorus]
Sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I watched an eagle as it was flyin'.
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.

To live like you were dyin'.
To live like you were dyin'.
To live like you were dyin'.
To live like you were dyin'

The (Mis) Adventure of Buying a Car

My first car was a sweet looking Kelisa. The experience of buying it was not sweet though. I believed my exact words that I screamed in the car showroom was "Mana xxxx? Dah mati ke apa?" I kid you not. Mak aku pulak due to my size is super worried that the car would flipped over if I drive too fast. Oh how I love to defy her :P

Anyhoo.. padan muka suka melawan cakap mak. Kelisa tu asyik la kena langgar till I got bored so I told myself.. lagi sekali kena langgar, I'm going to change it.Of course la kena langgar lagi! My next car is a dashing Savvy. I had a fair share of arguments with the car dealer as well. I did throw a nasty spell or two which revolves around the business will go bust. Which it did? Or did they just relocate :P? Anyway, the car handles like a dream. I drove it around the hell bend corners with a calm confident. That is until I burnt it to death. Well near death. It was not the same after that. Kesian dia.

So I say 2011, will be the year of a new ride for me. So which car?Choices choices choices. Macam banyak duit turun dari langit kan. I think I bore almost everyone with the argument of car choices. The endless trip to car dealership (heheh ni kakak aku dah rasa nak bunuh diri). Masalahnya takde yang rasa terpanggil nak beli. Yang menmanggil-manggil, tak mampu pulak nak beli.

The list goes down to City and Forte. The later had all the features that had me going. The stop/start button and 6 cd changers memang terbaek I would say. Tapinya not everything is perfect. Malas nak cakap apa yg membuat aku ganguan perasaan dengan kereta tu. Just one thing that bug me to the core. I went to a few dealership just to get a look and feel and there's this one particular one... had this particular dumbass as a salesperson. He had this smug Im-above-you-all look. Nevermind that he called my sister, 'mak akak'. Nevermind that he had this sinister smile that says I can't afford the car. Macam cibai. Well, guess what? Kau masa menyanyi dulu pun tak best ok. Perasan bagus!

Sorry for the emo sidetracked. Now back to the car. A friend suggested, if City why not Insight. Hmm I had a few qualms about the car, particularly how much will the batery cost later if needed to be replaced. But she did brought a point. It's a CBU car. Bila lagi nak merasa fully imported car, kan? Betul jugak. And so begin my
3rd adventure of buying a car.

Like I said, I had enough of sales people. So I seek my friend's help to get an order in. I told her, "aku nak bayar je duit and pi ambik kereta, heheh". So the plan was in motion. We were going to get the car from a dealership in Johor. I was pretty keen since the plat no would be JM*. Now the color. Nasib ada 4 variation aje. So that's 4 indecisive week. Kejap A, kejap B, kejap C. Arghhh right just pick and choose. All done, just wait for your car in a months time. Nice!

Allah tu Maha Berkuasa. Tiba-tiba, tsunami pulak kat Jepun. All car production was impacted. First it was delayed, and later on, it went grinding to a halt. My friend told me that the chances of getting the car is pretty slim if not delayed a few more months. I read in the forums and lo and behold, the head office of the company had a memo out asking that their dealerships around the country to stop taking orders all together. Chances are now not slim anymore, it was next to none. Alamak, takde mood dah nak tukar kereta.

The reason I wanted to change car was that my old car was due for some part changes. Particularly I had to change all four tyres. Since now the plan to change car dah out of the window, so I had to fix up my poor car. Ah, now it feels like brand new. I have good feeling about it.

Allah tu Maha Kaya. Setelah a few days I had my car fixed, I got a miscalled on my mobile. Sape ni. So I called it up out of curiosity.

"Saya Yati"
"Yati, mana?"
"Yati dari ..H****. Kat BP. Akak nak tak Insight?"
"Hah? Ada stock ke?"
"Ye ada stock?"
"Serious?"
"Serious..Nak tak?"

Oh darling... I so WANT it.

I forgot to mention, I also read in the forum that one should try their luck at smaller dealership, should they have surpluss of stock for the car. So I did that. I did call a few branch but have totally forgotten about it. I don't think that it would even be possible that one still have stock. People are waiting for their car since Dec.

It dawn to me, ye lah agaknya sebab sebelum ni ada niat-niat jahatkan tak nak tukar tayar semua. Once I did that only then God allow me to sell off the car and get a new one. Tak payah tunggu-tunggu pun. Orang call lagi tanya nak ke tak. Sighhh.

The next 7 days went by with buzzing car buying activity. If I think back, ada ke orang beli thru phone calls aje? Memang gila. Alhamdulillah everything went well. I had to bank in the money and scan and email the payment slip. Endless phone calls to the sales lady. One snag came to signing the loan documents. Tak kuasa la nak turun south to sign them. The lady punya determined suggested that we meet half way. She called me on Saturday in the am and a few hours after that, I met her at Restoran Jejambat Melaka tu. Tolonglah bagitau aku if you know anyone else who sign their loan agreement at A&W? Overlooking the PLUS highway. Hahahahah memang kerja gila!
I don't feel like tendering for a special registration number. Apa-apa la.. asal dpt JM* tu.

Aku memang tabik spring kat minah sales ni. She delivered as promised. She even arranged for my old car to be sold off to a 2ndhand car dealer. I went and picked up the car the next weekend after I signed the docs. Hujan la pulak. But she still patiently go thru all briefing about the car feature, sales, manual and insurance. Aku angguk-angguk je. Sebenarnya she had lost me at the Ipod USB cable in the car some 1 hour ago. Pastu siap belanja makan asam pedas yang sedap gila. Yang paling tak tahan, siap ada sessi ambik gambar pulak untuk penyerahan kunci. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. She said that she will send me the photos. I'm glad she hadn't!

So here's saying good bye to my old ride and welcoming a new one. Semoga semuanya OK.