Lundu a.k.a London

"Mak, London ya jauh kah?" I remember vividly this question that I asked my mom when I was still little.

"Sik jauh eh. Sejam dah sampey.." my mom answered, simple yet confusing for a 6 year old.

"Sejam jak? Bukan London ya jauh kah??? Berapa tambang nak pegi London bah?" I asked again.

"RM30 jak. Sik jauh eh. Nait motor sampey.." this answer really messed the head of the 6 year-old. How come the fare only costs RM30? Does it really take one hour to reach there?

When I got older, I realized that the 'London' that my mom meant was the name of the district where my grandparents live. It's about 90km away from Kuching. Many of my childhood memories took place at the big house at the foot of Mount Gading. Playing with my cousins, swimmming in the stream behind the house, and lots more. I miss everyone there. Wish to see them real soon.

Bersama atuk & nenek tersayang... huhu..

14 years later, who would've thought that 6 year old boy could really set his foot to the capital of the United Kingdom. Joining 11 other classmates, I departed for London from Köln on the evening of 11th April. The sun was shining bright in Köln on that day, as if it is smiling while welcoming the arrival of spring. The supposedly 90 minutes flight took only half of the estimated time. When we landed in London. It was 8 p.m local time. London is colder than Köln, probably because of its geograpihical location which is more up in the north. Pouring rain made the temperature even lower. We only reached our hostel where we stayed at 1 a.m, due to a little complication with transportation (stupid bus conductor). The hostel is satisfactory, although it didn't give me a good first impression. There was a halal fast food restaurant just next to it, and it's near to the New Cross Gate train station.

Departing...

At Stansted airport..
Liverpool Street subway.. (it's not Liverpool though, it's still London)

The Hostel (like the horror flick.. huhu..) Wake up!!! We didn't come to London to sleep!!!

The first day, we decided to visit a museum called HMS Belfast. With our London Pass, we did not have to pay for the entrance fee. Originally it was a battleship which was used in war, and it has served in war for a few times and managed to survive till today. Now, it is turned into a museum located at the Thames River near the London Bridge. Things to see: history of HMS Belfast, life on deck, shipbuilding, and a giant missile.

Posing jap...
Jap g, jap g... huhu..

K2, last2... hehe...

HMS Belfast

Robot march...

Torpedo.. (Bole wat sup torpedo nie..)

Adoi! Dok lam kapal pun ader kne bayar bil jugak ke?..

huhu..

Janganla marah bang.. Abang masak mmg tk sedap pun.. Kalo ader awek bole wat scene Titanic nie.. huhu..

Next, we visited the most important landmark of London: The Tower Bridge. This suspension bridge was opened to public in June 1894. The special characteristic of this bridge is, that it could be 'opened' to allow ships passing through. This bridge has an engine room which holds all the hydraulic systems & steam engines which control the raising of the middle part of the bridge to 'open' the bridge. Posing lg jap...

Tower Bridge
View on London from Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge walk..

Tower Bridge hydraulic system..A happy family... (kononnye..)

Because we didn't have breakfast that day, we ran out of fuel after visiting just 2 places. So, we went to fill up our tanks before we moved on to the next spot: The British at War museum. We ran through this place quickly because we wanted to save time for visitng other places. This museum is quite boring anyway. I'll just let you see some pics so that you have the idea what the museum is about. Isi minyak dulu.. Huhu..
Azri nakal kne tarik telinge ngan Inspektor Mu'izz..

Walauwei...

Street soldier?

Aftermath of the war...

Around 5 o'clock in the evening we decided to went back to our hostel, because we failed to find a mosque around the London Bridge area. After our early dinner we headed out again to North London, where the gigantic stadium of the Arsenal FC, the Emirates stadium is located. By the time we got there it was already dark. Funny how such a big stadium could be built in this area, because this area looks like a housing estate to me; lots of houses stood just across the street. Of course, the stadium is closed at night, so we didn't had the chance to enter the stadium. Photos from outside the stadium are enough to make us feel happy that we made it to the stadium of a world-class football club.
Subway to Arsenal...
At the Emirates...

Tak abiz2 posing...

After visiting the stadium, we went back to our hostel for a good night rest. That was when we discovered that there was a fast food restaurant right next to the hostel. That was how we fed ourselves for the remaining 3 days in London, with fried chicken, burgers, fatty kebab and fries. I swear, if I stayed for another day there, I'd be vomitting eating those garbage.

Gaya hidup yang SANGAT tidak sihat...

Second day: We went out as early as we could so that we would have enough time to visit as many places as possible on that day. At first, we wanted to enter the London Bridge Experience, macam rumah hantu. Huhu.. Faris and me didn't have the guts to go inside, so we decided to wait outside till the others come out. :P But then, because the place have not strated accepting London Pass as an admission, we didn't manage to go inside. Therefore, we decided to substitute the activity with a cruise along the Thames River of London. With our London Pass, the cruise was free. We cruised from London Bridge to the south-eastern par (approximately) of London, which is Greenwich. Was it nice? Actually, it is not convenient at all to sit on a cruise along a river at the weather temperature of 11-14°C (damn cold). But we got to see historical buildings along on both sides of the banks of Thames.

Second day

Chop this guy's head off! Stupid egg.. (kick)

Cruise yang bising...

huhuhu...

We ended up in Greenwich after being on the cruise for an hour. I think everyone knows about the Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT). Here is where the line of longitude 0° of the Earth lies, specifically at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. We went to the observatory just to be able to see the line which differentiates the time between two zones of the Earth. Place the line between your two feet, and you're actually standing on two diiferent days; one present and the other later one day. Very exciting...
Posing lg sket.. Huhu..View from Royal Observatory... "The home of time and longitude"

The Meridian line...KL spotted! Six brothers...
Asyik2 posing... Hesh...

Crite Hindustan 1

After Zohor prayers, we headed out again to visit the Kensington Palace. On our way there, we were disappointed of the subway system; many rail lines were closed. Some were closed due to repair works, we could accept that. But some were closed for no reason. We had to change trains many times just to get to one place. That's why in my opinion, the rail system in Germany is MUCH better.. Huhu.. Anyways, instead of taking the train, we took te bus to Kensington instead. As we stepped out of the bus in front of a 5-star hotel, we saw a number of people crowding. I wondered what was going on. As we walked, Azri shouted from behind...

"Weyh! DIRK KUYT!!!"

Azri caught my attention. As i turned to face him, to my big surprise, i saw Dirk Kuyt, the Liverpool skipper, standing just right next to me, signing an autograph on a ball for a fan. We were starstrucked. If Dirk Kuyt is there, then there must be other players still inside the hotel, we thought. So we waited outside the hotel for about 20 minutes, just to see the players went out of the hotel and board their bus. We didn't left the hotel empty handed though. Azri & Fir managed to get autographs from Arbeloa, Dosena and. Torres was "hochnäßig", that was why he played teribbly during the 2nd leg Champions League game against Chelsea. HAHAHAHA!!! He deserved it..

Dosena.. I think.. huhu..

Torres, Gerrard & Benayoun

After that, we continued our way by foot to Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, the palace was already closed for visitors. Pictures in front of it would do then. One thing about London which impresses me is, there are big, green and beaútiful parks where people could sit or lie down and relax. The flowers are beautiful. We walked around the Kensington Park to enjoy the scenery before we went on to visit the Royal Albert Hall where the famous Malaysian artist Siti Nurhaliza performed, which unfortunately was also closed. We also went to the grand shopping complex called 'Harrods'. In there, I felt like I was somehow 'discriminated', because I didn't feel like I deserved to be in there. The stuff there are freaking expensive. A small glass vase costs a damn 460 Pounds. If I broke it, I wouldn't be back to Germany.. Huhu..

Kensington Palace
Beautiful garden...
Tdoq sat.. Penat...

Cerita Hindustan 2 (Fail)

Tak layak jadi model...

Huhuhuhu...

We arrived shortly at the Buckingham Palace, where the Queen of England stays. It was already dark, so we couldn't see those guards in red uniform wearing that weird hat. The changing of guards only takes place at 11.30 a.m the following day. There was more walking after that. We walked along the St. James's Park (Park, not NUFC's stadium) until we reached Westminster. Took a few pictures, then took a bus back to the hostel.

Aduz.. Tak abis2 posing..
Masih tercari-cari jalan kebenaran...
Buckingham Palace

Little Faris & Big Ben..

Final day: There are still many places to visit. Firstly, we visited the Tower of London, located on the north bank of Thames River. The Tower of London was built in the year 1078 by William the Conquerer. I can't remember anymore the long history of this tower, plus so many kings & queens lived here back in those days, and i can't remember the names except for one, King Henry VIII. There was an exhibition at the tower where the history of this crowned King of England from 1509-1547 is told. It was said that this lad was into sports, especially the brutal sport of jousting. Many of his armour suits were displayed on the exhibition. Each of them have their own special feature, especially in size, because King Henry VIII seemed to have new armour for every battle. Furthermore, the armours are damn heavy. I wonder how he could stand standing with metal suit mounted all over his body. I was amazed by this lad. But then, he died because of obesity. According to source, he had an accident which damaged his knee, limiting his ability to participate in sports. As he got older, he suffered from several diseases, and finally passed away at the age of 55. (No cams were allowed inside, so no pics.. Sorry)

Tower of London

Lost in The Lost Palace

huhuhuhuhu...

King's bedroom.. Aiyak!
Yo,yo, wad's up homie??!

Besides that, there is also a special room where all the precious crowns and royal belongings are kept. The room is highly secured; the door of the room is built with platinum, about 6 or 7 inches thick. My thoughts, so much of the Earths minerals are wasted to produce the stuff displayed here, especially gold. :P (Again, no cams were allowed in the room). Oh, and guess what? We finally found the guard in the red uniform. He was so static. He marched here and there, then he stands still, so still that no a single muscle appeared to move. Unbelievable. I wonder how he would react if ever he had a stomachache on an itch in the butt.. :P

Officer Static

Not so static I guess.. huhu..

Before that, Jonathan told us that we could also get free souvenirs at one of the shops in London Circus using our London Passes. So, we headed there after we left the Tower of London. Just when we thought it was more convenient to travel with bus, it turned out that the bus system on that day was terrible. Many buses stopped halfway on their route to their supposingly final station. We wasted over an hour sitting in a bus. The name of the shop there where we got the free souvenirs was 'Crest of London'. What i got for myself? Nothing. I got somthing for my family though. :-)

Oxford Street

After Zohor prayer, we headed out as quickly as we could to the London Zoo before the last admission. Unfortunately, we were only a few minutes late. We didn't have the chance to enter the zoo, but a few pictures from outside the fence would be enough to satisfy myself. Disappointed & a little bit frustrated, we went back to our hostel.

Tak dapat masuk.. Sob3...

The cause of swine flu...

To cheer ourselves up, we went out again after Marghrib prayer to Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea F.C. A big match between the London club and Liverpool was also taking place on that day, the 2nd leg of the Champions League quarter final to be specific. As soon as we arrived there, the match had just ended. A flood of people walked out of the stadium. I have never this much people in my life. I was a little bit scared, that if someone messes around, it could triggre a big fight resulting in horrible consequences. Nevertheless, we dared ourself to fight our way through the flood and managed to enter the stadium. Azri bought a sweater from the fan shop, while Zu bought himself an inflatable but useless chair. (Sori r Zu.. :P).

At Stamford Bridge

Chelsea Fan Shop

Inside the shop...

On our way back to the hostel,we found ourselves in the situation where the Chelsea fans were celebrating their victory over Liverpool. They were singing and shouting. We met a couple of lads who thought us a few songs of Chelsea F.C. It was really cool the way they show support to their own football club. We were given 2 Chelsea flags, but we had to leave one at the airport due to security reasons.

Chelsea supporters

We reached our hostel at midnight. Seng and the others have already checked out from the hostel. We quickly ate our dinner, packed our stuff and left the hostel later that night. Leaving a place on a cold night felt so familiar to me, for some reason. We took a bus to Liverpool Street and waited in a McDonald's restaurant there till the bus heading to Stansted Airport arrived. We rode the bus to the airport, and continued resting there till boarding time. We landed safely in Köln at 9 p.m local time.

Nak balik dah..

Main kad tu haram tau.. :p

Leaving on a jetplane.. (Airbus je pun.. Huhu..)

So long of a story for such a short trip. I feel very thankful to God for giving me the opportunity so open my eyes to more places on his beautiful Earth. I'm looking forward to step my foot in more places in the near places. InsyaAllah...