Category: Life’s Little Tidbits

 

I was really looking forward to this day because it was the day I would be meeting Sakina in real life for the first time. For those who didn’t know, I knew Sakina last year, when I started delving into the One Direction fandom and after a year, we finally meet!!!

Before all that, Aunty Sue drove me to Bristol city which took about 20 minutes and it was nice to finally see people and buildings again. Not that the countryside wasn’t nice, because it was, but like what Aunty Sue said, it was like reminding yourself that civilisation still exists. I went to The Hawthorns first, Sakina’s hall of residences at University of Bristol. She was an undergraduate currently pursuing her first year of degree in politics and philosophy. Her little green room was as nice as I’d pictured and we spent the first few hours of the morning watching YouTube videos of Dan and Phil and also of 5 Seconds of Summer which Sakina is trying to convert me into liking. That was when I realised that real life!Sakina and Internet!Sakina were the exact same person. And that was good. Mostly I was just really happy to finally meet her and fguhseigdjgkjsgfds my feels!!!!!11

At 1PM, we decided to head out into the city, where we grabbed lunch at a place called Roosters Piri Piri which is a restaurant very much like Nando’s.

After that, we walked to Cabot Circus, which is basically like a shopping complex and passed by the place where Effy met Freddie and Cook in Skins and also Harbourside (I think that’s what it’s called I don’t remember I’m a bad tourist I only remember that the name has the word “harbour” in it). At Cabot Circus, we got ourselves pretzels and Sakina brought me to Lush, this cosmetic shop she’s the ambassador of. I’m just kidding but she might as well be their ambassador judging by how frequently she visits the place as well as the number of Lush products she owns. And then we went window shopping (I think that’s how you use the phrase) at places like Hollister, Urban Outfitters, Republic, Internacionale, H&M etc and wow I’m pulling all the big names here considering how I’ve never once stepped into these franchises before in my whole life because 1) there aren’t any shops of this kind where I live and 2) these brands are expensive as heck. But here, their clothes on sale are mostly less than 10 pounds and even if you converted them into Malaysian ringgit, it wasn’t that bad. So in the end I got a shirt (one that Zoella wears in her videos) and also a pair of jeans for £8 and £12 respectively. I didn’t take photos of them but hopefully I’ll wear them here someday and post it as an ootd on the Internet or something. I am becoming that kind of person. Ah well, at least I don’t do that everyday so cut me some slack here.

I know I’m late to discover this, but shopping in England is quite stressful in the sense that in some bigger shops, people literally snatch stuff on sale and are very impatient in queues. Or maybe this happens everywhere including KL and I’m just too isolated from this culture to actually notice it until now.

Our last stop was the highlight of the day: Shakeaway! I have to admit I was most excited for this because of Dan and Phil and oh my god what is my life. I got a butterscotch with white Maltesers mix, same as Dan’s usual whereas Sakina got Oreo and Daim mix, same as Phil’s usual. What are our lives.

I know there are no face photos here and you must be direly disappointed because I FORGOT TO TAKE PHOTOS OF OURSELVES but don’t worry because there are definitely more Sakina and Michelle adventures in the future so stay tuned!

First of all, yes I am aware I have been MIA for quite a few days but fear not for you have not missed much. The morning after I got back from Amsterdam, Sa Pek and Aunty Sue, who had been in the United States for two weeks, picked me up at Kenzie’s apartment and it was a two-hour drive to their home in Bath. To be specific, it wasn’t exactly in Bath. It was in Wiltshire, somewhere near Bath. Yes, it is a farm. Yes, it is huge. Yes, there are many houses inside the farm.

We didn’t do much on the first day as Sa Pek and Aunty Sue were busy people but I also met Grandma, Aunty Sue’s mother, as well as my cousins Richard and Sapphire, who were as busy as their parents. My uncle runs a wooden furniture business and operates a shop and restaurant business called Teohs in Bristol. (Yes, the very same Teohs Restaurant that Benjamin Cook once visited and tweeted about to his other YouTube famous friends.)

The second day, Aunty Sue took me for a short drive in her convertible around Castle Combe, a very nice and traditional English village where the movies War Horse and Stardust were filmed at. It was a complete antithesis to busy London, much like being teleported from year 3008 to year 1856. It was a huge contrast between city and countryside.

Today, we drove to Chipping Sodbury and went grocery shopping at a local store called Lidl (much like Asda, Walmart, Tesco etc) and had lunch at a pub called The Dog’s Inn (I’m supposing you’re getting the vibe of the Bath villages now, right?). Some of the hobbies I’ve picked up here is watching Suits (I love being hooked onto a new TV series!!!) and reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series books (I love being hooked onto a new book series!!!).

Did I mention that the English weather since I’ve been in Bath has been absolutely wonderful? Not a single grey cloud and not a single raindrop. Just sunshine and more sunshine.

Also, I’m meeting Sakina for the first time tomorrow at Bristol! Yay!

Photos

Today’s post is gonna be quite short because nothing much happened today and also (surprise, surprise) I’m really tired. I think all I’ve said since I’ve been here is “I’m tired” “It’s cold” “What is this weather” so it really gives you valuable insight into my thinking.

Today we visited Zaanse Schans in Zaandam which is basically a village of windmills. While yesterday was a day of tackling the city centre full of people rushing around (much like sperm), the Zaandijk village was peaceful and serene, save for the tourists that were also visiting the area but even that couldn’t compete with the hustle and bustle that is Amsterdam city. The cottages there were like the scattered houses we saw at the countryside on our way to Keukenhof on the first day. We also visited the windmills, Dutch cheese factory and clog factory. Then we had lunch at a pancake house (apple & cinnamon and bacon & cheese pancakes oh my lord) and headed back to the hotel to check out, hung around at the airport and finally flew back to London City Airport at around 6 PM.

It was really windy and cold when we visited Zaanse Schans. After all, they didn’t call Netherlands the country of windmills for nothing.

At the Dutch cheese factory, I saw many Dutch girls wearing white hats and aprons and went into a thinking stupor wondering why it seemed as if I’ve seen those images many times before when it was my first time in Holland and then it struck me that I’ve seen it on the Dutch Lady milk cartons and then oh! Dutch Lady. Michelle, you’re so intelligent oh ho ho

It was also Queen’s Day in Holland so I got a free orange scarf from the hotel I was staying at and it had a crown symbol on it as well as the date 30.4.2013 which is really cool.

Now I’m back in London and ready for another round of adventures!

Photos here, as usual.

The Dutch tour guide on our canal cruise tour today said, “Amsterdam is three metres deep: first it’s the cannabis, then the bicycles, then the water.” And he is a hundred percent correct. Which he should be because he’s a tour guide.

Anyway, today we went into the central Amsterdam city by train and arrived at the Amsterdam Centraal (that wasn’t a typo, that’s legitimately how it’s spelled) before delving into the city’s core. I’m not really going to elaborate much on the places we went to but rather of how I perceived this city to be.

First, guided by a map, we visited the tourist attractions such as the Royal Palace and Madam Tussaud but only from the outside. In my previous post, I mentioned how beautiful the buildings at the Amsterdam countryside were? Well, it wasn’t just the countryside, the buildings in Amsterdam city were equally beautiful too. They were all tall and narrow but wonderfully designed.

After that, we visited the Anne Frank House but didn’t get to enter because the queue, holy crap, stretched on for two streets so I just took a convincing photo outside of the building and dined at the cafe next to it. It was a shame because I really wanted to live the Hazel and Gus Amsterdam experience but I got a photo of the stairs that Hazel climbed so that’s 0.5% of the experience, I guess.

Following that was a canal cruise through the tourist hotspots and that was when the sun came out to illuminate the initial gloomy grey clouds. After that, we basically walked the whole town, passing by the Red Light District rather too frequently for my liking. We lurked at the Rijk Museum park a little and then walked back to the central station to head back to the hotel.

What I noticed, while I was in Amsterdam, is that they have very confusing streets and it’s mainly made up of four things: pedestrians, bicycles, buses and trams. There were tram tracks running throughout the roads, criss-crossing each other that it was understandable why no one really drives a car around here. There were hardly any cars and most of the people get by with bicycles. There was a huge building for bicycle parking and it was literally four storeys (and perhaps more) of parked bicycles. Another thing I noticed is the taxis in Amsterdam are all either Mercedes Benzes or BMWs which makes the taxi driving profession look a little cooler.

Amsterdam is also nothing without water (specifically canals) and bridges. The entire time we trudged through the city, we crossed at least six or seven bridges and also oh! The houseboats! The same Dutch tour guide mentioned that in Amsterdam alone, there were approximately 2500 houseboats moored in these canals, which, I think, besides the constant staring from tourists on canal cruises, was pretty cool because their houseboats were really, really nice and pretty.

Amsterdam, you will also find, is full of graffiti, which really isn’t shocking but it literally is everywhere. And also, I’ve come to a conclusion that Dutch words are just combinations of multiple English words with a single syllable with double vowels.

And finally, we touch the topic of Red Light District. For those of you who know what that is, I bet you’ve been expecting this, silently screaming, “WHEN IS MICHELLE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT” while reading this entire post and for those of you who don’t, good for you because it’s not something you might like. Or maybe it is. I don’t know! I don’t know any of you that well! I think.

Anyway, my thoughts on this is that Amsterdam is a really liberal city and they take pride in these activities, which are considered illegal in most countries, that they do. I’d say Amsterdam is the European Thailand where this culture is concerned. And I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I’m not saying it’s right, either. I really don’t have a say in this because I don’t know enough to actually know, you know? Like, to many people it might be horrifying and disturbing and should be banished but to the Dutch it might just be something really, really normal. It’s like the existence of Japanese commercials. There’s no wrong or right in it. For me, anyway. To quote the Dutch waiter from The Fault in Our Stars, “Many think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but it is actually a city of freedom; and many people find sin in freedom.” Perhaps not the exact words. I’m too lazy to search for the exact quote, I’m just reciting off the top of my head.

The basis of right and wrong aside, I personally felt really uncomfortable in that area and was glad to be out in the city instead of those alleys. Dodgy and sketchy people terrify me, which is a really reasonable fear, I should add. I was hugging my backpack tightly to my chest the entire time, afraid to make eye contact with anyone at all. It was called a Red Light District, after all, as in, danger red light?

The irony of the Red Light District located right beside a church though. Biggest irony in the history of all ironies.

Speaking of The Fault in Our Stars, I was rereading the Amsterdam parts of the book and started shouting, “I know what you’re talking about I’ve been to that place too!” So I’m really glad I was given the chance to live the Hazel and Gus Amsterdam experience at all. I know it sounds pretty weird to some people that I’m being excited over something fictitious but you don’t know me, okay. In the wise words of Clarissa Kendall, you don’t know me. #YOUDONTKNOWME

Anyway, my Amsterdam trip is coming to an end and I’ll be flying back to London tomorrow evening. Amsterdam has been a city of surprises, but it’s definitely one of the most interesting cities around.

Again, too tired to upload photos into this post (you have no idea how long it takes to upload multiple photos into a blog post, no idea) so the full album is here. I might edit photos into this post when I’m free. I might.

Today we woke up at 4AM because we had a 7AM flight to catch to Amsterdam. It was an hour’s drive from Fishguard Way to Gatwick Airport and there, we boarded a one-hour British Airways flight and arrived at Schiphol International Airport at around 10AM Amsterdam time.

I was pretty excited to arrive at Schiphol since it was an important setting in Aku Anak Timur, the Malay literature book we all had to study in Form One. Schiphol Airport was enormous and after collecting our luggage, we checked into Citizen M hotel, which was right next to the airport itself. Somewhere in between that, it just dawned on me that I was in the same city that Gus and Hazel had been in. Granted, they are fictional characters but STILL. Damn you, John Green.

After that we took a bus to Keukenhof, a destination I know thanks to Aku Anak Timur, again. It was basically a tulip garden/park and it was huge. Along the way, we passed by the more rural areas of Amsterdam and this city differed from London in the sense that there was a lot of bare land and scattered cottages with the most beautiful architectural designs I have ever laid my eyes upon. If there is one place I want to live after I retire, it’s the Netherlands just so I can own pretty houses like these.

Keukenhof was filled with people by the time we were there and there is nothing more to say to this other than there were too many tulips and flowers of every colour that exists in this world. The weather was also wonderful, as there was actually sunshine, much unlike gloomy London. Keukenhof was literally filled with people from all over the world, so far I’ve seen Koreans, Arabians, Spanish people, English people, Chinese people, Americans and probably a few Malaysians too. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I suspected as much. Many also brought their dogs along for walks and it was literally one of the highlights of the visit.

We spent half of the day there before returning to the hotel. And even the hotel was worth talking about because it was the weirdest yet coolest hotel I’ve been too. It reminded me of IKEA a little and it was, how do I say it, very interactive with its guests. A lot of the functions here are self-serviced and the overall design was retro and modern at the same time. Kind of reminded me of the Japanese a little.

And here’s a short video to prove how weird this hotel can be:

We had dinner at Schiphol Airport that night and after that we went shopping a little where I got myself some sweets because I can and also I am such a tourist.

I apologise for the lack of photos but it is late and I am so tired and maybe I’ll post some of them up when I’m free but meanwhile here’s the entire album of today’s photos on Facebook.

I thought it was pretty silly to put “self” under the featuring section because of course my “self” would be featured otherwise why would I even be writing this?

Anyway, yes! Day two! The day Michelle takes London! By storm! Literally because it started hailing halfway through today’s London tour. Just kidding, I would never do that to you Londoners.

I mean, it did hail. Just that it wasn’t my doing. Okay.

I woke up at 7AM this morning because 1) I slept really early the previous night and 2) it was already really bright by 7AM. I woke up, had homemade sandwich breakfast, cried a bit at the weather (SEVEN DEGREES), changed into multiple layers and then went out to explore London with Aunty and Uncle Ooi and Kenzie.

In the car, we passed by the O2 arena and the Olympic stadium. Our first stop was Canary Wharf at East London and we boarded a ferry on River Thames to Central London. On the ferry, we managed to catch glimpses of The Shard, Tower Bridge, London Bridge and many other really beautiful English buildings. Also, I was enlightened about the wrong assumption that Tower Bridge was London Bridge because London Bridge was actually quite bland and well, unattractive so perhaps Fergie wasn’t quite accurate when she sang about that bridge.

We alighted the ferry at London Bridge City, crossed Hay’s Galleria and headed for Borough Market. There, I saw English fruits and vegetables and they had enormous strawberries and thin carrots and white asparaguses. There were a lot of food stalls there selling all sorts of food as well, and even chanced upon a stall selling Thai food. I also got to see huge English bread and big blocks of cheese. In the end, we feasted on a plate of fried scallops which were HUGE, Portugal fried rice and also the real, genuine, authentic English fish and chips which was the size of my entire left arm.

After that, we took the Underground!!!! Kenzie got me an Oyster card earlier which is basically like a Touch and Go card except that you can use it for all public transport such as buses and trains. We took an underground train to Westminster, where we stopped by London Eye but didn’t go on it because there were so many people there and I don’t know which line was longer, the line to buy the tickets or the line to go on the carriages. So we headed to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey after that. Again, the line to enter Westminster Abbey was really long so I chose to just skip that. Also, I got to hear Big Ben’s 1 o’clock bong it was like living the @big_ben_clock twitter dream.

After that, we took a bus (one of those red double deckers) to Piccadilly Circus where it was quieter in some of the streets and had lunch at a restaurant called Burger and Lobster which sold precisely what it said, burgers and lobsters. I ordered a lobster roll which was £20 and REALLY HUGE but also really nice although I got quite sick after a few bites of lobster meat. Don’t get me wrong, I love seafood and also lobster but too much of something really does make you a little sick.

Somewhere in Piccadilly, I also saw a shop that sold celebrity masks and was tempted to get one but didn’t want to, uh, tarnish my image of being normal.

Then we went to Chinatown! Because it would be a crime if you were Chinese/Asian and NOT visit Chinatown and it was so nice and there was even a stall that sold durians £8 (appr. RM40) per kg whoa. We then went on heading to Trafalgar Square but then it started raining ice so we took shelter at the National Portrait Gallery for a while. From then onwards, the London skies turned grey and gloomy and rained at intervals.

We then took a bus back to Canary Wharf where Kenzie had parked his car. Let me just tell you how much I love the British public transport system, mainly the Underground and the buses because those are the only experiences I’ve had so far. I loved the feeling of professionality and importantness that came with beeping those Oyster cards whenever taking an underground train or public bus. It was also cheap, fast, efficient and just overall so convenient that I want to bring that back home to Malaysia. English people are also generally more polite and friendlier than people back home, and London people are all really well-dressed it was like walking in Manhattan…which is probably just the American version of London. It was a busy city, just like KL, but unlike KL, I seem to love the busyness and rush of London. It was a very comforting sort of busyness, if that makes any sense at all.

Sometimes I feel like it’s all a dream, that everything I’m seeing around me, the Englishness of it all was so surreal. All along, my entire life, the English seem so untouchable, and I think it’s mainly because I worship and obsess over the English so terribly that when I come here it’s like heaven on earth. Being in a movie. Living a dream. And it can be scary sometimes of course but I love it. I love London (although probably not the weather) I love it. Now all I need to do is meet Dan and Phil (or camp outside the BBC Radio 1 station during their radio show) and my London trip would be more or less complete. Oh and also Madame Tussauds. Definitely Madame Tussauds. I can’t not go there since they’d already made a wax figure of my boyfriend there, right?

Today I also watched my first ever Phil (which quickly turned into a Dan and Phil) liveshow live on YouNow and I was really emotional over it.

Amsterdam tomorrow!

Click here for more photos yo

 

That night after I wrote the previous post, I slept for two hours (despite the fact that I didn’t want to sleep) and woke up at 3AM to commence our car journey to Penang airport since my flight to KL was 0700 hours. I was going to be on the same flights as Aunty and Uncle Ooi so after hugging my parents goodbye, I boarded the short one-hour flight and spent the time on the plane reading Chamber of Secrets. It was a very short flight and we transited at KLIA for an hour before boarding my 13-hour flight to Heathrow.

It was very emotional for me okay, it was my first time travelling abroad without my parents and the 13 hours on the plane was terribly torturous. It was hard to sleep on the plane because every time there was even a slight turbulence I would be jolted awake and my sentimentality still prevailed as I questioned why on earth did I leave my comfortable home to take this freaking thirteen hour flight without my parents. So in the end, I ended up watching almost all the movies and TV shows they provided on the plane and six episodes of Pretty Little Liars on my laptop. Oh the TV console thing on the plane was pretty awesome I might add. I watched all three episodes they had of The Big Bang Theory and also New Girl and they also had movies like The Hobbit, Les Mis, Sherlock Holmes etc??? How cool??? AND their music albums are mostly UK artists aka my cup of tea.

When the 13 hours was up and I could finally see London through the window, I thought I was going to jump right then and there because I was that excited. I was giddy and ready to unboard the plane because I was in London. I was in London. London. Holy crap. I was functioning on merely two hours of sleep and I was ready to go out and explore the world around me.

I was really excited and energetic for a person functioning on two hours of sleep when I checked into the UK border and there, a conversation went down between me and the immigration officer. Officer/me: “So you’re still under 18?” “Yeah.” “Where are your parents?” “Um, they’re not following me here.” “No, where are they now?” “Um back at Malaysia?” “Do they know you’re here?” “YES THEY DO”

And then we exited Heathrow Airport (Heathrow Airport!!!!!! I walked where One Direction had walked before!!!!) and Kenzie was there to greet us and then we stepped out and IT WAS SO COLD until we got into the car heading for Kenzie’s apartment and by then I was so sleepy but I was so hell bent on looking out of the window at EVERYTHING that in intervals when I dozed off and woke up suddenly I was sure all this was a dream because London is so, so beautiful and we passed by Central London when I got to catch a glimpse of Big Ben, London Eye, Buckingham Palace etc but in the end my fatigue won and I was too tired to even open my eyes.

An hour later, we arrived at Kenzie’s place at Fishguard Way and it was such a nice place and everything about this place is so nice I want to cry but you know what else makes me want to cry? The WEATHER WHICH IS SO COLD!!!! And suddenly I was very grateful that I’d packed for winter. After having a very small portion of dinner (noodles cooked by Aunty Ooi) I fell asleep straight away wearing two jackets with socks on.

I think that’s how you count it? The day before Day 1 would be Day -1? Although it would seem more appropriate for it to be called Day 0 but then that would sound incorrect. Oh ho ho look at you Michelle, trying to sound smart and all that.

Anyway, yes, for those who didn’t know yet, I will be going on a one month trip to England (and Amsterdam for 3 days 2 nights) not alone…but without my parents either. I will be following some family friends there and then eventually stay at my uncle’s house at Bath.

And why am I going to the land of tea and crumpets you ask? To visit family and friends, to scout for possible future universities, to stalk youtubers (cough) and because it’s England! I don’t really need a better reason than that.

So in T-minus 13 and a half hours, I will be boarding my transit flight to KL from Penang and then a straight flight to Heathrow Airport in London which is all very well and excellent aside from the fact that airflights have always made me nervous even when I was a kid and also 12/13 hours of not doing anything??? Also travelling abroad alone for the first time. Gahbufsjfgdguergdbgfd

Anyway, I have the entire Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars downloaded onto my laptop and also I have RP replies to write and also I brought along two Harry Potter books because I can so I guess I am prepared, in a sense.

I realise I don’t make much sense. I still haven’t completed my packing yet. Whoops.

See ya in London! Xx (because that’s how the English type, right?)