On the night of September 21, 2010, when I came out of Stansted Airport near London, my smiling girl Syazana was there to greet me already. From there take a train to Liverpool Station, take a bus to Notting Hill Gate, and arrived at the apartment in Cheniston Gardens, Kensington and Royal Borou of Chelsea, around 1 am.
Our trip was easy, as her apartment is about 2 minutes on foot to the High Street Kensington subway station. People in London called it a tube. The main stop is Paddington station. Besides the tube, I used a two-storey red bus that I always arrived. As the Londoners in other seasons did, we also bought Oyster cards that can be used when traveling on tubes and buses.
For the purpose of communication with family members and friends, I changed my cell phone SIM card to a local one called Orange.
While in London, my daughter took me to several Malaysian food stores other than the usual fast food store. We ate lunch twice at Malaysia Hall London cafeteria in Queensborough Terrace in Bayswater district. The cafeteria was located in the same building as the Malaysian High Court. We ate Bonda Cafe, Tuc Din Restaurant, Delima Restaurant, C & R Malaysian Cuisine, Caen and other restaurants in Bayswater and Paddington. When I did shopping at Westfield, I had lunch at Jom Makan Restaurant.
While I was there, the Malaysian food festival was held at Trafalgar Square on September 24, 2010. As it was Friday, my daughter and I are located in Park Road, Regent Park after Friday's prayers at the Central Mosque in London. It was a pleasant event except that it was cold in the evening and the wind was strong.
My vacation was about two weeks, so my daughter was planning to visit a few popular spots. One evening, we went for a walk on the Westminster Bridge above the River Thames. Tourists all over the world were taking pictures of Big Ben and the Capitol in the Westminster Clock Tower. I was reading this travel magazine that this clock tower (now known as Elizabeth Tower) is the world's most photographed structure.
Another favorite place for tourists and the Londoners are the official London residences of Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II. On Wednesday morning, around 11 am, we had a colorful farewell called "Guard of Changing", so we suggested staying there. The guards rehearsed in the barracks before they marched smartly to the palace with a red coat. When I was there, the guard & # 39; band played a familiar instrument theme, nostalgic "mission impossible". The audience shouted loudly and applauded after them.
On September 27, I ate breakfast at the famous restaurant The Muffin Man Tea Shop in front of our apartment. Located on the corner of Wright's Lane and Chenyston Gardens, this restaurant is famous for sandwiches and muffins. Today's plan was to visit Greenwich's famous landmark. It is approximately 30 minutes by train from central London.
Greenwich is also popular as a town in the university. Usually, tourists came to Greenwich and visited the world's prime meridian in the courtyard of the Royal Observatory. The Royal Observatory is the main meridian of the world and home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We can print our own certificate signed by the Director of the National Maritime Museum of Greenwich. It is based on our visit date and primitive meridians.
I also got the opportunity to visit nearby cities of Manchester. The journey of Virgin Train departed from Euston Station. After stopping at Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport station, we went to Manchester Piccadilly station for two hours trip. We stayed at Ramada Hotel, within walking distance from the station. On that day, I went to Salford Quays by tram and had lunch at Harbor City. In the evening I enjoyed Malay dishes at the Ning Restaurant on Oldham Street.
After we returned from Manchester, we had lunch with Amira at the Sate House in Sale Place near Sussex Gardens. Indeed, her mother, Juliana Bahari, was a close friend, my former employee.
It is widely known around the world that London is a shopping paradise. Most people go to nearby places including Oxford Street and Knightsbridge District with Harrods. In case of a souvenir, I like to go to the Bayswater area to purchase them. Items such as postcards, key chains, refrigerator magnets, T-shirts, mufflers, London street signs, mufflers etc. are reasonable prices. For high-quality second-hand goods and paintings, you can purchase at Portobello Market.
On the day before leaving London, I took dinner for my family friend Raja Iskandar and my wife Arna (now Dr.), taking a train from Paddington station to Reading Central. In fact, last week I took a meal in a Lebanese restaurant at Edgware Road in the Bayswater district. We felt very pleased that we could see them again.
I remembered my first vacation in London in March 1986. Indeed, at that time I was participating in a 2 month lubrication course at Agip Petroli in Rome, Italy. When classes were canceled on Friday and the following Monday, we got the chance to go to London. I went there with a staff member, Salaudin, who was in the course. Based on his student days of experience, we will put the night at the bed & breakfast Norfolk Place, Sussex Gardens. The nearest tube was Lancaster station.
During the short stay, we were able to visit Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street, Buckingham Palace, Soho, Little Venice. I remember the posters that had been sold on the sidewalks, "If you get tired of London, you are tired." Certainly, I have never been tired in London!
My 2010 London vacation ended on October 8th. We took a train from Liverpool station heading for Stansted airport. After saying goodbye to my daughter, I entered the end of my journey. This plane took off at 9 p.m. at the LCC terminal in Sepang, Malaysia, and ended an 18-day truly memorable stay with my beloved daughter, Syazana and London (and Manchester).
