First and foremost: "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin" pada semua pengunjung blog; ampun pada janji2 yang tak tertunai (terutamanya janji nak siapkan novel...ampun sesangat!!!).  

Hari ni aku nak menulis tentang pengalaman berpuasa dan menyambut raya bersama suami. Tapi sebelum tu kena cerita sikit pasal kedatangan students baru dan juga permulaan semester musim luruh. Students' Union sangat meriah dengan muzik yang gempak gempita dan ofis aku plak sebelah tu je...so layan!! Tahun ni ada dua orang Melayu yang buat PhD. Sorang tu namanya Kak Siti, dia buat multivariate. Dan sorang lagi Firdaus, buat diet problem. Si Firdaus ni kebetulan share ofis dengan aku, dan dia plak rupanya kenal dengan bebudak imax utm.....so banyak jugaklah story-mory yang boleh dikongsi.  

Bila students baru masuk...macam-macam jenis parti yang diwar-warkan. Diorang ni kadang-kadang gila parti, sampai mati pun ada! Ada setengahnya mabuk teruk, sampai merosakkan harta benda jiran...jiran tu bangun pagi je nampak kereta dia berselimuti dengan sampah sarap. Ada ke?? Tapi ada jugak mende yang best, macam free gift, kupon2 makanan dan flyers yang sekarang ni berlungguk kat rumah.  Ini ala-ala kumpul material sbb sekarang ni tengah gile wat kolaj.

Tapi kolaj tu cerita dua tiga minggu lalu. Sekarang, dah terbiar atas meja...sebab mood nak beraya telah tiba. Apatah lagi satu persatu kotak dari Mesia datang ke rumah. Mula sekali, kotak dari Alor Star. Penuh dengan kerepek2 yang aku idamkan, antaranya kerepek bawang dan kerepek popia. Juga ada baju kurung dan baju melayu. Bila tengok butang baju melayu, teringat waktu shopping kat Sabah waktu pesta buku. Jenuh Kak Saadi dok explain pasal butang baju melayu, camner nak pakai...aku tak paham-paham jugak! Kotak kedua dari KB; yang beratnya adalah milo 3 kg.....sesiapa yang penggemar milo pasti memahami bahawa milo di UK sangatlah tak sedap jika dibandingkan dengan milo di mesia...pastu dengan balang2 kuih raya; satu balang kuih yang dipanggil keju rossette (something like dat) dah pun habis sebelum sempat 1 Syawal. Kotak ketiga plak sampai pada 1 Syawal daripada ofis Faiz; name cards dan kuih-muih raya siap dengan kek lapis lagi. Kire memang sakanlah kuih raya kitaorang tahun ni...:D

Raya taun ni begitu kelam kabut......sebab sangkaan raya pada hari Rabu meleset. Sebaliknya raya adalah pada hari selasa. Hari Isnin tu aku gi surau, jumpa sorang akak ni...yang baru balik shopping bahan-bahan raya. Katanya, diorang dapat info yang raya jatuh hari selasa. Aku dah lah tak shopping mende.....walaupun plan kemain baik nak buat laksa (ni kes mengidam).  Nak shopping bahan2 untuk buat laksa ni bukannya senang. Kena gi Tai Sun..Tai Sun pun bukannya ada asam keping..kena gi Thai Pana. Jadi segala proses pembelian itu ditangguh. Bila akak tu cakap raya mungkin hari selasa, aku pun jadi cuak. Memandangkan aku kat school, so Faiz la yang pergi Thai Pana...jauh jugak dia menapak tapi bila sampai sana, asam keping je ada. Sayur-sayur lain semua tak ada (dah abis stok). Makanya aku pun terpaksa lah ke Tai Sun jugak...Menapak ni, dengan cuaca yang buruk dan sejuk dan dengan jaket yang nipis.

Petang tu bila sampai umah, kedua-duanya lembik cam sayur tapi harapan masih menggunung yang raya hari Rabu (so dat tak yahlah aku penat2 memasak pulak lepas dah penat menapak). Watever...harapan tinggal harapan bila aku dpt call dari zana dalam kul 6.30 macam tu. Mmg confirm hari selasa raya! Malam tu, kitaorang tak lalu pun berbuka puasa. Makan fish fingers je! Aku ni macam lipas kudung, dok memasak. Aku pikir cam senang wat laksa, tapi aku terlupa nak bersiang ikan tu leceh jugak benarnya..........plak tu kena rebus dulu, pastu perisi ikan lagi (perisi ikan, keje Faiz). Selain laksa, aku masak lontong, rendang ayam, kek cokelat dan puding buah. Kali pertama buat kek cokelat...agak huduh sebenarnya, tapi bila dah dipotong-potong, taklah nampak huduh sangat. Rasanya boleh tahan........ Time masak tu, blender sampai berasap. Kena kasik rest kejap 15 minit, baru sambung lagi blend isi-isi ikan tu.....

Tujuan aku masak macam-macam tu sebab nak wujudkan mood raya pertama sebenarnya. Memandangkan ini pertama kali Faiz beraya kat sini, aku nampak dia macam sedih je. Dok teringat menu-menu kat kelantan; macaroni sup, kuzi ayam, lemang, ketupat, rendang segala macam....Pastu, takkanlah nak buat makan untuk kitaorang berdua je...so ajaklah rakan-rakan terdekat kat sini...ex housemates, zana and sob, lisa dan housemate dan rusdi sekeluarga. Semuanya muka-muka yang sama yang ada waktu buat jamuan bukak puasa. Oh..lupa nak cerita, tiap2 kali hujung minggu, kitaorang bergilir2 anjurkan bukak puasa. Hari biasa, makan simple jek...time weekend.......perut mengembung dengan segala macam makanan. 

Kesimpulannya sambutan 1 Syawal boleh tahan meriah walaupun tidaklah dibuat besar-besaran.......Nampak cam semua orang hepi jek...walaupun sebenarnya dalam hati, masing2 rindu nak balik Malaysia. Anyway, lepas diorang balik...barulah terasa letih yaamatz...tapi seletih-letih aku, letih lagi Faiz. Terus menyondol bantal! Aku? Maintain lagi! Siap layan Kekasihku Seru sambil menghirup kuah laksa. Nyam-nyam.

p/s: If you guys feel like reading more, blog-hop to Kak Ngah (free promo ni beb!) She wrote about things that we did during Raya....dated 16 years ago!!! HEre is a sneak preview:

As a younger sister, I looked up to my elder sister a lot (Kak Long, hang jgn nak kembang ok! Notice that the format of the sentence is in past tense. huhuhuh) Sebab kitorang 5 org adik beradik, mak aku slalu bawa aku and kak long dulu pergi beli baju. “Mak tak mau aih bawa ramai2 pi kedai meneru-meneram mcm mak itik tu!” The thing is, because I looked up to my kak long soo much….semua baju yg dier pilih, baju tu juga yg aku nak. hahahah. DId u stil remember how exasperated you were at me, kak long? Soooo funny, bila aku pk balik........

Aku tak ingat sapa nyanyi lagu tu...tapi melodi dia ada dalam kepala sekarang. "Satu cinta dua jiwa...." Beatnya agak rancak. Boleh tahan catchy. Anyway, I dedicate that line to Tom and Megan; they are now honey-mooning in Croatia. Lucky them to escape this awful autumn weather!

Aku ingat....beberapa bulan lepas Tom umumkan pertunangannya dengan Megan. Macam biasalah...bertunang bknnya ada majlis apa pun; just a private moment shared between those two. Dan minggu lepas pulak, aku dan Faiz ke majlis kawen diorang. So, the story goes like this.

Macam biasa...kitaorang amik kete sewa (sebab tak mampu nak beli kete lagi kat sini!) hari Jumaat. Hujan lebat. Aku risau gak.....sebab dah tak ada payung. Kalau kenduri kawen nanti hujan camne? Habislah basah....nak pakai rain coat, rasa cam tak glemer plak. Jadi, berdoalah aku sepanjang hari Jumaat itu agar keesokan harinya, Sabtu, bersamaan 6 Sept 2008 tidak akan hujan. Kalau hujan pun, ala-ala light-light jelah!

Kitaorang tak buat plan bagai macam pegi bercuti hari tu. Tak tau la kenapa...macam tak ada mood sgt nak berjalan sebenarnya. Lebih kepada nak ke kenduri kawen Tom. Jadi, plan nak ke Canterbury pada hari Jumaat tu terpaksa dibatalkan. Kami teruskan perjalanan ke Brighton. Tambah dengan hujan mencurah, jalan plak tersangkut-sangkut walaupun kat motorway. Yang paling teruk sekali waktu kat M25.....punyala slow nak bergerak. Pertama kali kat sini bayar tol bila masuk lebuhraya. Tu pun tol sebab naik jambatan Queen Elizabeth II (ala-ala macam jambatan Pulau Pinang je).

Bila sampai Brighton dah lewat petang. Kelam je suasana. Tambah pulak hujan ribut taufan lagi. Hajat nak berjalan menyusuri pantai tak tercapai. Tengok air laut yang bergelora pun dah naik takut. Pada masa yang sama, amaran banjir dah pun dikeluarkan kat kawasan seperti Wales dan North Yorkshire. Kitaorang bukak pose kat Restoran Thai dekat dengan Brighton Pier. Hari tu kirenya penat memandu jek. Aku tak lah bawak kete, sebab macam biasa....bila dia ada, rasa diri ini tak competent je nak bawak kete. Sampai Travelodge, terus zzzzz.....

The next morning, we left Travelodge at about 12 in the afternoon. Kitaorang  menuju ke Surrey; memang kawasan perkampungan yang terkenal; yang menjadi tumpuan pembikin filem. Jalan nak ke kampung Tom dan Megan tu, bak kata Faiz lagi dahsyat dari jalan nak ke Gua Musang. Jalannya sempit dan berbukit. Banyak kali sesat jugak. Akulah penyebabnya...macam biasa! Patutnya kalau dari Brighton ke Surrey, 51 minit je bawak kete...tapi kitaorang dekat pukul 2 petang baru sampai. Aku panjang-panjangkan leher jugak, nak tengok kat mana lah Surrey University ni...tak pun boarding school tempat Kate penah belajar dulu. Tapi  tak nampak. Later, I found out that those two are not in the Ewhurst area; they are closer to Guildford. 

Sepanjang perjalanan, McD dengan KFC pun tak ada. Yang ada cuma local pubs..tu pun jarang-jarang yang kelihatan. Kat sini tanah ladangnya luas, rumah ladangnya besar, keretanya pun besar. Porsche, Aston Martin, jeep-jeep gajah...semua adalah! Kan best kalau petani kat Malaysia pun kaya-raya macam petani kat England. Bila kitaorang sampai kat Glebe Road (kawasan rumah Megan), hujan dah tak berapa lebat. Kitaorang lepak dalam kete sampai pukul 2.40 macam tu...amik-amik gambar syok sendiri. Amik gambar tu keje aku la. Faiz malas nak layan sangat sebab dia bz tengok peta. Katanya, nanti malam susah nak drive kalau tak tau jalan. Walhal sebenarnya, dia tak berapa nak harap kat wife die ni dah...........

Leo gave a call when he and Thais arrived at the church. Jadi kitaorang kuar kete dan menapak ke gereja. Kecik je gerejanya tapi dah lama; beratus-ratus tahun dah kat situ. Sampai je nampak muka Tom tersengih lebar, menjemput kitaorang masuk. Mak Tom pun ada kat situ; she said, "glad that you can make it!". Daripada dulu lagi dia ada jemput datang rumah, tapi tak penah ada kesempatan. Tom's dad was there as well, and we exchanged greetings.

Majlis kat gereja tu tak lama; dalam sejam je. Lepas majlis, kitaorang beramai-ramai jalan kaki ke rumah Megan. Kat sini pengantin tak naik kereta pun. Jalan kaki jek. Halaman rumah Megan tak ada tanda langsung yang adanya majlis perkahwinan kat situ. Tapi bila kita jenguk belakang rumah...nun gagah berdiri marque berwarna putih; memang cukup muat tetamu yang datang; lebih kurang 80 orang. Kitaorang lepak kat situ, bersosial dengan hadirin yang ada. Sambil-sambil tu pelayan menghidangkan makanan ringan. Tapi sebab bulan puasa, kitaorang tengok jelah.....

Lebih kurang pukul 5.30, kitaorang keluar dari majlis kejap...ambik angin kat luar. Tom cadangkan pergi melawat Shere; kawasan perkampungan yang cantik kat sini. Memang cantik dan tenang. Nak ambik gambar, cuaca tak berapa baik. Nak berjalan kaki pun tak dapat. So last sekali, kitaorang singgah minimart, beli majalah sorang satu dan lepak dalam kereta sambil menghadap pemandangan. Kat luar, hujan turun rintik-rintik. Dalam pukul 7.30 kitaorang sampai ke majlis kawen. Diorang semua kebanyakannya dah habis makan. Tinggal aku, Faiz, Abil dan isterinya yang tak makan lagi. Note: Abil and his wife are Megan's friends; another Muslim couple.

Let me just give you a brief description of the party. A big white marquee, some musics at the background, plates and glasses clattering, big round tables where each table had its own theme. Each table had different names; Paris, Kenya, etc....representing the places where Tom and Megan had visited. Not only that, each table was graced with the picture of them taken at that particular place. When Faiz and I went to Tom and Megan's place in Heavygate, we saw bits and pieces of woods that were used to create their own four-tier cake stand. They even baked and decorated their own cakes. Wonderful eh! Ok, it might not look professionally beautiful like some proper wedding cakes that charge you a ridiculous amount of 600 pounds (the one that I saw in The Apprenctice); but their effort was undeniably remarkable. To me, the cakes were beautiful and meaningful. The wedding was even more spectacular when Faiz and I were being surrounded with really really nice people. 

Sambil tunggu time bukak posa, mak Tom dan mak Megan sama-sama melayan aku dengan Faiz. Mak Tom siap bawak aku berkenalan dengan nenek Tom. Tom's grandma was very nice. She said: "Tom talks a lot about you!" And she went on, talking about her trip to KL, Melaka, Cameron Higlands. She didn't like Cameron Highlands. Sama je macam kat England. :) I thought so too. But that's the reason why I love Cameron Highlands. Aku ni macam kena duduk kawasan sejuk. Kirenya ala-ala orang gunung! Lebih tenteram dan emosi pun stabil. Tak cepat naik angin. Cool je. Nenek Tom perkenalkan kawan dia plak; kawan dia ni lagi banyak cerita nak dikongsi sebab dia dulu belajar kat Penang...duduk lama kat sana sampai la pada tahun 1944 dia kena balik England, sebab masa tu perang dunia ke-2. Dia cerita perjalanannya ke Singapura dari Penang untuk naik kapal balik ke England. 

Kami jugak berkenalan dengan Stella dan Alan; pasangan suami isteri yang dah berumur; anak dia Paul adalah kawan baik Tom dan jugak best man pada hari tu. Alan was a funny guy; and he got along very well with Faiz. Diorang berdua tak abis-abis bercakap pasal kamera dan isu-isu lain la...tapi ice breaking nyer topik adalah kamera! Dan Leo pun join sekali. Stella pulak pelawa aku datang tido kat umah diorang. Stella ni pun best jugak, dan keibuan. Kata Megan, Stella bakes the most delicious cakes in this town. Leo dan Thais bermalam kat rumah Alan dan Stella. Patutnya aku dengan Faiz pun, Tom nak tempatkan kat sana. Tapi sebab bulan puasa, I thought it would be more convenient for us to stay at Travelodge; senang nak bersahur.

Bila time kitaorang boleh makan, orang lain yang dah makan tu...tolong layan kitaorang. Terharu betul dengan layanan first class yang kitaorang dapat. Aku rasa Leo dan Thais pun dapat layanan yang sama, sebab kitaorang je kot yang bukan English. Abil dan isterinya walaupun bukan English tapi diorang dah lama duduk kat UK; so dah macam orang tempatan. Makanan malam tu sedap; ikan salmon, cous-cous, carrots + nuts, potatoes and some sort of vegetables....Dessert pun ada kek dan puding dan tuan rumah cakap tak ada alkohol apa semua, so belasah! Lepas makan, ada majlis tari menari. 

Walaupun dapat warning look dari Leo, suruh join...kitaorang buat bodoh je...Lepak tepi tu. Live band malam tu memang dasyat; lagu-lagu yang dibawa memang tip top. I had fun; walaupun lepak tengok orang menari jek. Faiz plak sibuk dengan kamera, ke hulu ke hilir...amik gambar. Kitaorang mintak diri dalam pukul 10.40 malam. Stella cium pipi aku macam ibu yang akan melepaskan anaknya pergi. We said goodbyes to Leo and Thais; the new good friends; Tom's mom (insisted us to come and visit again so that she could take us to London); the grandma and the friend of grandma, and finally to Megan and Tom. Tom pulak mintak maaf sebab tak sempat nak menari dengan aku. Aku pulak....tak kisah beb! Langsung tak pikir yang aku kena menari kat majlis-majlis macam tu.

Kuar dari perkarangan rumah Megan, suasana gelap. Lampu jalan pun tak ada. Kali ni aku mintak, aku nak bawak kereta...sebab aku tak sanggup nak jadi navigator baca peta. Gerun jugak bila drive malam-malam, daun-daun hijau merimbun di kiri kanan, jalan pun sempit...sunyi, tak ada orang...mulalah otak aku pikir mengarut. Muzik Kekasihku Seru dok berdengung dalam kepala..... ...lebih kurang sejam baru kitaorang keluar dari kawasan hutan jin bertendang. Barulah masuk jalan besar sikit...dan lepas tu tak lama kemudian, kitaorang sampai ke Travelodge di Reading. Business must be good here sebab ada dua Travelodge yang besar dan dekat-dekat plak tu....

Once we were tucked in our room; we turned on the television; and with some unidentified musics at the background, we decided to have our dance.

We did struggle to get out of of bed on the third day of our trip. Outside, the weather was so-so but fortunately, it was not raining. We checked out at 12.00 in the afternoon, and were amazed to find out that our car was surrounded with white caravans attached to the back of the other cars. Looks like some real big families and friends were going out for an early weekend holiday! An English guy with serious facial expression came towards us and said:

"I think, you've lost your caravan!"

The place where we stayed is in the middle of motorway; just like a hotel set up somewhere in Perak in Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan. We had our breakfast at Cafe Rittaza; a cup of hot chocolate and maple and pecan nuts. From Lancaster M6, we made our way to Blackpool, and arrived there at about 1.30.

It was windy and very cold and boy, I was there wearing thin fabric, pink in color. My expectation of sunny-beach-weather-just-like-Brighton-one-year-ago was sadly ruined by the time I walked out of the parking space. In my personal opinion, walking around this so-called "a gay town on the north" (note that UK has a gay town on the south; that is Brighton) is like stepping into a big, massive funfair.

We could see vibrant colors everywhere; and the main road closed to the beach was decorated with significant things that portrayed the image of Blackpool; like the mannequins of performers of Funny Girls that stood high, attached to the lamp post. Note that Funny Girls is one of the most popular entertainment venues in Blackpool, performing cabaret and dance routines to music in the very finest transvestite finery. 

Along the road, there were many slot machines, and also a family of tarrot card readers (that's what I thought based on the advertisements at the doors). I made my own fiction: that the guy started the first tarrot card service and he actually got married to this woman (used to be an arch enemy) who had her own shop and they had become old and it was the perfect time for their daughter to venture into this prosperous business and so another shop was set up somewhere near the block. Well, if you happen to go to Blackpool, do take a look at the advertisements of these tarrot card readers. I seriously think, this is a family business. :D  And there was this weird exhibition of Doctor Who?; honestly had no idea why this tv series was made into an exhibition.

Donkey rides and horse-carriage rides were available at the beach but we decided to just walk and spend time taking close-up pictures of the birds. Anyway, other than that, there was a low-budget version of Madame Tussaud which we did not enter and various stalls selling hot dogs, cotton candy and ice cream. A perfect funfair, I would say.

Close to the shopping mall, stood the Blackpool tower, which is very much inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. We had lunch somewhere there, at Bella Italia. That was the same chain restaurant that I went to in Birmingham with Elina. Faiz had penne fresco which he didn't fancy much and I had linguini with king prawns which turned out to be quite delicious. But the best, I would say is the dessert. I had al-fonte chocolate and he had mascarpone cheesecake. I must say, I made a better choice! :D

Around 5.40 we made a move towards Manchester; just to have our dinner at Jati Restaurant there. We both tried nasi ayam and he had teh tarik! We then drove around the city and stopped for a while at the Manchester Old Trafford. It was a long way back home, as we decided to drive along the scenic route of Peak District, along the A57.

-The End-

We had tuna sandwich and a cup of chocolate for breakfast. It was a chilly morning, and the weather was not any better. In fact, news came up that some hikers got stuck because of the flood, and so we cancelled our intention for serious hiking. Everybody in Carlisle walked on the streets with proper jumpers and long coats, but we had normal summer clothes. Faiz wore his knee-length shorts (see? that's what I meant by serious intention for hiking) and he had to bear this awful weather, strolling along the streets of Carlisle, a city bordering the England and Scotland. Anyway, we did not stay long in Carlisle. We made a move towards Penrith.

We had a quick look at the city centre for about 30 minutes, spent another 15 minutes in the public toilet and another 15 minutes walking back to the car park. So, that's Penrith! Hehe...We tried to find the Castlerigg Stone Circle, situated in this area but we ended up somewhere at local farm on top of the hill. We parked the car at the side of a narrow road, because we couldn't resist taking a closer look at the horses there. From the end of the field, they strutted gracefully towards us (probably hoping that we had some carrots)! Unfortunately, we only had junk foods in the car. We both love horses very much, but I have to admit that I have never dirtied my hands to take care of them. Faiz had done that when he joined the equestrian club. Nick said there is an equestrian club close to where he lives. I was beaming, really! And then he said, lots of Mercedes and Range Rovers lining outside. So folks, I had to quit fantasizing!

We continued our journey, driving along the Ullswater lake on the narrow road. The car and the lake were merely inches away and there was no barrier. I don't know how deep the lake is, but I imagined if the car were to skid, we were gonna be dead! From the narrow road, we drove to higher ground, conquering the range of hills. The view was serene and spectacular with a single farm house for every 2-3 miles and the sheeps with blue or red or green dots on their bodies, having their own sweet time. 

We arrived at Windermere in the afternoon and couldn't find any proper place to eat. Proper means nice and not expensive. Since the Booths situated fairly close to the Information Centre, we decided to have lunch there. To be honest, the lunch was not very satisfying, but sufficient to keep us going for another four to five hours. After lunch, we decided to take a quick walk to Orrest Head; a point on the summit of the hill, overlooking the Windermere lake and the green farms that stretched as far as the eyes permit. The large white-colored boats seemed like small dots across the dark-green lake. We were sitting not so far from another group of tourists, contemplating on hiring a boat and maneuvering it ourselves. But the sight of vast water and our great disability to swim, let alone to stay afloat are the things that we had to consider carefully. And we got even more horrified when we overheard:

"The reason why the lake seems so calm is because it is so deep!"

From the Orrest Head point view, we drove down to Bowness, to get to the Windermere lake. There were lots of tourists here, and the shops were so much better, and come to think of it, we should have had our lunch at Bowness. The seagulls, the ducks and the swans graced the shore; the white motorboats of small, medium and large sizes and the wooden row boats already tied at the pier. We hired a white small motorboat named Holly for 26 pounds. It was a smooth ride, as Faiz maneuvered Holly out of deck, careful enough as not to go close to the red buoys, where hidden rocks could easily damage and sink the boat. But once we got to the very centre of the lake, the ride was a bit bumpy. To be honest, I was very scared. Faiz shut his mouth completely, acting calm and in control but later admitted that he was worried as well.

We were both very tired by the time we left Windermere and couldn't wait to arrive at Travelodge in Lancaster M6. But because of my incompetency in understanding directions, we ended up halfway to Blackpool and had to turn back. We were hungry and decided to go to Preston, the nearest city to have our dinner before driving up to Lancaster M6. Well, at least, we have been to Preston. So, Preston, tick! I had a marvellous briyani meat and Faiz had plain rice with chicken curry and spinach kima at Naseeb Tandoori House. The price was very much reasonable! Oh...I even had banana fritters as dessert. From Preston, it took about less than half an hour to arrive at the Travelodge. That's the end of our second day trip.

To be continued...... 

When people here talk about having a holiday; they have a mental picture of one week chilling out at some secluded place, perhaps reading books or strolling along the beach, taking their own sweet time to explore every bit and pieces of that area. Well, I thought that is brilliant except that I don't have the luxury of time or money to spend one week at one place.

So the term having holiday in my context means that I am taking time off from work to cover as much foreign grounds as possible, driving off from one destination to another and not forgetting to take photos as momento and solid proof that I have been to those places. Well, it is tiring but that is the way things are done (again, in my context!).

Although this kind of holiday does not appeal to Tom (at all!), I am glad to know that some people in my department, to be precise Kate and Lu travel the same way that I do. At this moment, I can imagine Leo wrinkling his nose, saying "Ahh...these Asian people! "

I had a conversation with Kate about York; since she used to live in York for three years, doing her first degree. Basically I wanted to know how York is (yes, I know I can google); places of interest, what to see, should I book a room and stay there for 2-3 days. Her answer is: "One day is enough!" When I asked Lu's opinon about Lake District, whether I should really try to stay at one place for 3 days or so, she looked at me as if I have gone mad. "3 days? Nooooo! Why waste money? You can cover everything in one day!" She pronounced the word money distinctively.

To sum up, our holiday was a 3-day-trip to York-Lake District-Blackpool. This entry is about our first day trip to York.

When I was small, mum and dad used to take us all to the waterfall for a picnic. There are two famous waterfalls in Kedah; Lata Bayu and Lata Bukit Hijau. Mum used to get up very early, around 4.30 in the morning, preparing the food. I tried to do that last week, to wake up around 5 to prepare the meals for our trip but kicking myself out of duvet when it was cold and raining outside was not easy.

It was 6.30 a.m when I finally dragged my feet to the kitchen, eyes half closed. We had roti canai with kari ayam for breakfast and packed nasi lemak, sambal udang with petai, telur rebus, ikan bilis, oranges, sandwiches and choc chip choccies (a mixture of smothered milk choc, praline, fudge and oats).

This time around, Faiz did the driving (note, I have the tendency of speeding). So, I had to be the map reader, and so good I was that we could not even get out from Sheffield. It would be easy if we were to follow the road sign heading towards M1 (the sign was posted everywhere at the roundabouts), but I thought driving along the scenic countryside route would be more ideal.

Anyway, we managed to get out from the city centre (that's it, after we stumbled upon some dead end with a place of interest clearly labeled as Heeley City Farm). On the way to York, we past through a small town named Doncaster. The only thing I know about Doncaster is its shopping outlet. I have never been there, so I can't really tell. The other side of Doncaster is huge fields with amazingly fat cows!

We arrived in York around 1 p.m. It rained a bit but the weather overall was ok, though it did not feel like summer.... at all! We went to Clifford's Tower, which was built during the medieval time, sitting on top of a small hill. In the year 1190, this tower witnessed the bloody massacre of about 150 Jews who came there to seek protection. We then walked around the city centre, and were amazed by the number of tourists and their polite gesture towards each other. The ambience of York was perfect for strangers to exchange warm smiles and hellos!

We took a picture in front of Betty's Tea Room for the reason that there were so many people queuing to get in. It was not even weekend! I googled about that cafe (after we got home from holiday), and it turned out that Betty's Tea Room is famous for its good service and deliciously mouth-watering cakes. Next, we went to Museum Garden, having our sandwiches and a bottle of coke. Lots of birds and squirrels graced this ten-acre botanical garden.  We had fun calling out the squirrels; they were charming indeed with thick bushy tails! In this garden, the ruins of St Mary's abbey (used to be one of th wealthiest Benedictine monastries in England) and the Roman fortress stand still, reflecting the rich history of York.

From Museum Garden, we walked towards the Roman Walls, crossing the Lendal Bridge where spectacular scenery of River Ouse greeted us. Our next destination was National Railway Museum (NRM) partly because it was about to rain and most importantly, it was free! One of the review obtained in TripAdvisor said that: "A must see, even if you are not a train buff", which in my humble opinion proved to be right!

We had fun, going around from one train model to another; we even stayed inside the bullet train, Shenkansen of Japan and watched the short documentary. The collection was massive; from Queen Victoria's carriage to Chinesse locomotive to Euro Star, etc. The diameter of the Chinese locomotive's wheel exceeds my height, well...I am not that tall anyway!

Outside the NRM, eye of York stands tall, opened to public in the year 2006. Well, there are many other museums in York; the Castle Museum and the Jork Viking Centre, which had such a long queu that day, which I reckoned would be something worth to visit. But because of the time constraint, we decided to make a move.

Our last stop in York was the York Minster, which is the second largest cathedral in the Northern Europe. From the eyes of zero knowledge in architecture and buildings, we thought the York Minster resembles the Notre Dame in France. Overall, I would say that York is a nice city, rich in history, unique in its own way (you can see paintings hung on the wall, in public space).

We drove along the scenic route of Yorkshire Dales, past through a small town named Westmoreland. Instantly the names Clayton Westmoreland, Whitney My Love and to be precise Judith McNaught came to my mind. We stopped by Keswick (Ke – zik), a small town in the Lake District that is famously known for its market cheese and the pencil industry. When we reached there, it has already turned into a sleeping town. Shops were closed as it was already 6 p.m.

By accident (thanks to the navigator), we ended up in front of the Theatre By The Lake. The name itself suggests that the theatre is very much close to the lake, named Derwent Water. Nope, we did not go there for the theatre, but for the toilet! Afterwards, we just strolled along the shore, taking pictures and waiting for the dark night to slowly take over the broad daylight.

Faiz continued driving towards Cockermouth, and about an hour later we reached Carlisle (Ca – lail). We booked a double room in Travelodge, my favourite place to stay because the rates can be as cheap as 19 pounds (if you book early, that's it!). Usually, the registration at the counter is very smooth, since the transaction is done prior to arriving.

To be continued...