Spain Trip: Ola Espana!

Assalamualaikum *taking a deep breath*

Out of oxygen! Writing an assignment consumes a lot of energy especially if it is in foreign language. Not only it was an English language assignment, the topic was shakespearean literature! Imagine all the analysis needed to be done! All the thou,  art, bla bla bla... dayyum... why did I choose this subject. T.T
 (eh eh, tp saya suka literature dari subject subject lain. cuma time menulis je tak suka)

Ok ok, back to the title a.k.a topic. Spain (or Espana), people!!! Have you ever dreamed of visiting Spain? Hehe, I do and alhamdulillah. Our trip was on 3rd until 8th of April 2012 and, mind you, it was an independent trip a.k.a backpacking. Where's the challenge if you went there by agency, ain't? eh eh.. not that it is not good to use the service of travel agency. Personal choice, yea.

Our trip started at Luton Airport. So the journey from Plymouth to Luton is parallel  to the journey from Kelantan to the border of Pahang, perhaps (5 hours or so) by bus. Our flight was scheduled at 6.40 am (SO EARLYYYY) and yes, it meant we had to spent a night the airport on the cold chilly concrete (save a lot of money, people)

Don't ask about shower. It is a sensitive question for backpacker. Nope.  Dont give me that i-want-to-know look. You cant sway me with your big kitty cat eyes.  Shuh! 

Fineee.. The truth was I only used baby wipe to clean my body. happy? Can you leave me to my narration please?

The flight (Easyjet) was delayed for about an hour and 15 mins. So,  we killed the time by strolling at the airport buying unnecessary things like sudoku books,  evian water,  chocolate etc. 

As soon as we boarded,   I slept like nobody's business. we departed at 7.50 (ish) am. Who cares.  I just wanted to sleep.  The bare concrete was killing my back. I almost got frostbite!  Just kidding. 

SubhanAllah. as soft as cotton.

At 11.40 am (local time), Ola Espana! or specifically Madrid! (Madrid Barajas International Airport). Oh, didn't have the picture of the airport. But, overall, general satisfactory. Next entry: Madrid!

Tips for backpacking travel:

1) Always make an early plan. (we planned ours about 3 months earlier)

2) Not necessary but advisable, make a trip schedule like this one.

I made a simple one. As a guide, in case of panic, blur etc.

3) If you plan to sleep at any point of the journey, make an early booking.

4) Bring sufficient amount of money and also debit card (in case of emergency)

5) Prepare some foods such as biscuit, instant noodles (maggi) and also water (in case you cannot find any halal restaurant)

6) The first thing to do before you are out of the airport, find a MAP and ask for information from the Info Counter.

7) Pray to Allah before you start your journey.

Hope this will help for your trip:)

Travel Guide: Stonehenge in Memory

Travel Guide: One of the Wonders in United Kingdom

Assalamualaikum people and good evening..


Fresh update after the Stonehenge Trip. Today was very exhausting. We spent one whole day in Salisbury. We departed from Marjon at 8.10 am to catch the 8.53 train to Westbury-> Salisbury. Unfortunately, two of our friends accidently left their rail cards at home. We thought of going back but then thinking of  the train which supposed to depart in 30 minutes time, we decided to try our luck.


When the conductor asked for the tickets and rail cards, our friends honestly told him that they forgot to bring it with them. However, the conductor didnt seem tk believe us due to the reason that there were two of us who failed to produce the cards. I was very upset with his words and tried to convince him.


"Im sorry, are you accusing us of being a liar and taking advantage of the situation. It's our fault but we've paid the fine and we've appologised. Well sir, if I were to bring this case to the court, I'm sure you will be sentenced a great penalty for your offensive accusation!"


But then, that lines only echoed in my burning mind and heart. Heee~ Our Deen taught us to be polite. So I said:


"They really forgot to bring it with them. It's their first time. We couldn't go back to get it because we wouldnt be able to reach the station before the departure time"


And yet he refused to accept our words. SABO JE LAAAAA :)


We arrived at Salisbury train station at 11. 46 am and paid for the Stonehenge Tour Bus.

This is your admission ticket to Stonehenge and Old Sarum.

Don't lose this ticket. This is your bus ticket (valid for one whole day)

While touring there was a pre recorded audio guide about the place played along the journey. so,  it kept us informed about the history of salisbary and so on

Salisbury is a beautiful town. You can see flowers everywhere. It is like a romeo and juliet town.:)

It was about 30 minutes ride. There! We could see the stones from the double decker bus.

You get an audio set for free that will explain about the history of the Stonehenge.

At each checkpoint, you need to press the number  (audio set) according to the checkpoint numbers.

After 5000 years, these are the stones that left.

"Henge" means hanging. 

So class, what does Stonehenge mean? HANGING STONES!! Goooodddd.

There are so many theories and conclusion by archeologist about these stones. It is said that it is used as a purpose of communication, ritual, and astonomical purpose.

 (what I was saying to myself was "betul ke dorang ni. Entah entah saje reka cite nak bagi jadi tourist spot".=.= Negatif betul pemikiran.hehe)

The stone was actually from somewhere else. It was actually from a place which was 1.2 miles from the current site.

A mural of the actual landscape.

Then, we hopped on the bus and went to Old Sarum. You can choose either to continue the journey to the city or stop at Old Sarum and catched the next bus. Since, we paid 15 pounds for the tour, let's make it really worth it.

The place was quite hidden. We followed a narrow path and also hiked the hill to reach the Old Sarum Castle. (but it was near actually.hehe)

As pictured, the castle was situated in the middle of the earth work. It wasn't actually a complete castle. Just the remaining of its structure. But the place was really relaxing and the scenery was spectacular!

The circle is a well.

it is also a place of gossip for the servants in the past. ehehhe..so funny!

Look! the servant in the Merchant of Venice is gossiping with Solanio!

The site of the old Cathedral.

Then, we catched the bus to the city centre. It was already 3.30 pm by the time we reached the city. Don't worry, there were halal foods for muslims to have lunch.:) Quality Kebab House was quite a meal.  Then, we walked to the Cathedral. It was huge. The spire is the tallest one in the land. It is also said that the spire slightly inclines towards the west because of its weak structure.

3 budak x betul hahaha..

The front view

Lepas tu, boleh pulak kan berbual pasal kenangan time foundation years, pasal assignments depan cathedral tu. :p

On the way back to the train station, we went to a beautiful garden.

gambar-aku-pura-pura-tak-tengok-kamera.:P

We bumped into our friends (who visited Bath) in Westbury. Then we travelled back together to Plymouth.

Oh, I got this as a memoryand my keychain collection.

And the most notable things that I learned today.

1. Perancangan Allah lebih sempurna. (yesterday, I checked the weather forecast. It was predicted that it would be a heavy rainy day today. But, our journey was lightly shined by the sun and it was a smooth journey.

2. Trip yang simple akan jadi sangat menyeronokkan jika kita pergi dengan hati yang tenang dan orang yang kita selesa bersama. it will be so memorable with all the laughs. (kami gelak je sepanjang journey tu. sangat enjoy dengan cerita masing masing)

p/s: we spent only 50.96 pounds for this enjoyable trip!

Travel Guide: Salisbury

Assalamualaikum cuties!:)

I just bought four train tickets to Salisbury. It is for me, Ain, Kangga and Wawa. I don't know whether the tickets are expensive or not. coz, I have never been there before. But, after i checked on a few dates, the difference (which is around 4 pounds) is not too large for the next month trip and our trip. I don't know. Maybe it depends on luck. hehe.

So, our journey would be from Plymouth train station to Salibury train station (return). From Salisbury train station we will take the Stonehedge tour bus for 15 pounds (student discount). It includes a tour, Stonehedge and Old Sarum.

However, I also plan to go to The Close, Salisbury Cathedral (not to worship just visit) and Mompesson House. It is just a plan. I hope it will go well and worth-going. The places are quite close to one another except for Stonehedge.

Salisbury train station.

From Salisbury train station, we will ride the hop/off bus (Stonehedge tour bus) which comes every 30 minutes. Then, the tour guide (if there is) will do the talking. The fare is 15 pounds return (insyaAllah).

Stonehedge

 

Stonehedge is a historical place. and I am not good in history. So, let's just google. hehe

" It is at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.^[1]Archaeologists have believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. One recent theory however, has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400–2200 BC,^[2] whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC."

Ihsan Encik Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

The admission fee is 6.80 pounds (for student). Well, everything needs money, even the toilet.

Old Sarum

Old Sarum is also a historical place. There's a cathedral in it and also beautiful landscape.

"The Saxons used the site as a stronghold against marauding Vikings, and the Normans built a stone curtain wall around the Iron age perimeter and a centrally placed castle on a motte protected by a deep dry moat. A royal palace was built within the castle for King Henry I and subsequently used by Plantagenet monarchs. A Norman cathedral and bishop's residence were built at the western end of the town."

 From encik google lagi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum

Mompesson House

It is a British traditional house (if I am not mistaken). It was owned by the Mompesson family and then handed in to the National Trust.

It has a beautiful garden. It was the setting for a film Sense and Sensibility. The entrance fee is 1 pound (garden only). 5.70 pounds for the whole house tour (half price for visitors with  bus tickets).

Salisbury Cathedral

Woahhh, belum pergi lagi dah macam pergi tu. hehe. It is just to picture how the trip going to be. The entry for the real trip will have a lot of OUR pictures. :) Stay tune for the next pictures. Can't wait to share with you:)

p/s: hope that the weather sides us.

Italy (recommended place)

Assalamualaikum......

WARNING!!! LOTS OF PHOTOS AND LONG ENTRY! TAKE THE RISK IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT PLACES IN ITALY!:)

thanks to Allah for the great opportunities He gives me in my life. I have just returned from Italy which took  5 hours++ trains from Plymouth to Airport Gatwick and 3 hours ++ of flight (Easyjet). Nothing to say except great EXPERIENCE!

We went to 6 places instead of 7. Naples had to be cancelled because it's too far and the ticket was waaaaay too expensive. Here, I would like to share places that i think worth visited and the sweet and bad experiences that I happened along the journey.

Milano.
There were 9 of us. We arrived at Milano Malpensa Airport at 12.00 am and decided to sleep at the airport. That happened when you had a tight budget for travel. Take note newbies.

saje pilih gmbr kabur.hehe

muka sleeping beasts. LOL

Milan, for me, is not a recommended place for holiday. The attraction were limited or perhaps we failed to find one since we got lost quite frequent.   There were a lot of immigrants too. (be careful. you might get cheated by their kindness.)

We went to:

by a designer named Young.

read it for knowledge

inside it:)

behind the wall was a beautiful fountain!

Bought a ticket from self service machine to go to Venice. worth 15.00 euro

There were other places that we went, but it was so boring which made me felt so lazy to review about it.

Word of the day in Milan

Si: Yes

Sweet memory: Sleep at the airport.
bad memory: cheated by Moroccan immigrants.

Stars: 2 stars


Venice
Superb! Splendid! We didn't book any accommodation in Venice. However, everyone seemed exhausted and cranky about the Milan's incident, so we looked for a hotel. Alhamdulillah, Allah heard our prayers. We managed to find one near the train station. It cost us 25 euros per night and it was a superb hotel! It was rated as 3 stars hotel but personally, I would rate it 4 stars! Hey,  I'm just a kampung girl who only get her chance sleeping in hotel at the age of 18. So,  it is a valid review,  don't u agree?

this was the hotel! name: Antica Casa Carettoni. A stone's throw away from the train station

Venice is a very recommended place for those who want to go for honeymoon or holiday. You can go to Murano Island, St. Marco and also Rialto.

The views were splendid. Indescribable.:)

night view in Venice.

early in the morning.Let's go to Murano Island!

we didnt ride the Gondola that day cause it was closed (i think) 

Instead, we rode the water taxi! 10 euros each

view while riding the watertaxi

Murano island is an island of glass because there are a lot of company (factories) making glass based souvenir. 

It is very famous in italy. People are crazy about venezia glass. (except us)

making glass souvenir

Then we rode a waterbus to St Marco. All sort of souvenirs were sold here. However, the lane near our hotel sold at cheaper price-_-'

Word of the day in Venice

Ferrovia: Train station

Rialto: a bridge. (i think)

sweet memory: managed to arrive at Venezia St.Lucia train station safely.
bad memory: none!

Stars: 6 stars!!!

Florence
Brrrrrrrrrrrrr......... COLD!!! Our actual plan was to visit the leaning tower of Pisa first. However, we had to change our plan because there was no train going directly to Pisa except to stop at Florence first. Florence was as boring as Milan. Not a recommended place for holiday.

cant remember what place was this.:p

near the above picture

another Duomo (church)

then we went to museum. displaying egypt collection.

There were other places too. but too many to be told here.hehe. Then we went to our accommodation place. I think it was Camping Site il Poggetto. So beautiful. It was a hostel.

after a 1 km ++ of walking.errrghhh......=.=

The campsite provided a shop, a restaurant, swimming pool (out of service) and the countryside view was breathtaking. We arrived here by blue bus. (SITA) ready for tomorrow!!! oh, the bus ticket cost 2.60++ euros per person (one way)

Word of the day in Florence:

Sita: bus

sweet memory: managed to find SITA (bus station in florence)
bad memory: tired and coldddddd

Star: 2 and 1/2 stars

Pisa
Great!!!! because we didnt have to move much. We visited one place only which was the leaning tower. I couldnt believe that I have arrived there!! I was aware of the existence of this great historical place through fashion magazines when I was 7 years old.

We went to Pisa by train just like how travelled from Milan to Venice and Florence

btw, you needed to stamp this ticket at a yellow machine before boarding . (see the image) You can be charged 50 euros for not stamping your tickets.

beware of the street-seller. you will be charged 100 euros if you buy fake merchandise from them.

lepaking at the field near Pisa Leaning Tower

sweet memory: buying presents for some peeps.
bad memory: none!

Stars: 6 stars very recommended!


Rome
cancelled Naples, so extra one day in Rome-3 days in Rome! Stayed at Tiber Camp Roma. Very comfortable. It provided free shuttle bus to train station, restaurant, a shop, swimming pool and great services.

Rome was fun but tired...................because it was so huge and the attraction was not a walk away from one another!! But we had to drag our little feet to cover all the places only by walking. You could imagine how tight our budget was.!

However, I was not as enthusiastic as I was on the first day since I missed my room so much.
We went to Colloseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Micheal Angelo Castle, Tritone, Fontana Di Trevi and Vittorio Emmanuel II

in front of Vittorio Emanuale II

The colloseum

Spanish Steps

Sweet memory: To get back to Plymouth and to know that Spanish Steps was actually a mosque. When the Romans conquered Romes, they wiped away all the holy verses carved on the walls and turned it to a church. It was sweet because if i didnt come to Italy I would not know about this upset history.

bad memory: to leave Italy.

Stars: 6 stars!!!

Ciao!!! from italy. Please visit Italy.:)

p/s: the lesson from Italy Trip. Be more patient as Allah is more patient to us than we are to ourselves. Oh, playing BINGO while travelling was the best BINGO ever!!

p/s 2: lebih senang menjalankan tanggungjawab sebagai muslim ketika travel berbanding di rumah

i dont like buying many things while travelling because i want to gain experience and to see the other side of the world.

During this trip,  I bought things for some people that i knew (who did not have the chance to go to italy yet *no offence, sincerely*) and also because they have helped me so much now and before and maybe forever.

a mug for Ustadz Haikal, for helping me:)

a lighter for my senior (thanks for your help!)

Keychains from all visited places for myself.ngee~~ 

(new hobby----well, i love cheap things LOL. 10 euros for 5:P)

Keychains for my beloved annoying sister, azwanida, someone and anyone that i feel like giving one. 

Fridge magnets for my ever beloved aunt, Saripah Syed Yussof aka Chik! featured in this ENTRY

Necklace with Venezia Glass Locket for my ever beloved annoying sister, Azwanida