CASA NAYAFANA: DAY 5 - LONDON DAY 1

Assalamualaikum..bersua kembali.Entri kali ni dan seterusnya...untuk share pengalaman kami bercuti ke Kota London.

Why London????....ooops!more correctly...WHY NOT London,kan?

Ok,lets see view & perspective kami as traveller berpoket nipis (..and tiris ni..ha ha!)...kami sebenarnya memang menabung untuk trip ke Ireland saja..kalau ikutkan hati,kami nak ajak Bang Bil cover North & South Ireland..tak payah ke benua Eropah (punyalah bajet mak bapak..).Tapi,our anak-anak remaja kata bosanlah kalau Ireland semata-mata...scenaries memanglah cantik...tapi after few days..macam boring pulak dengan castles and abbeys...mountains & cliff!Amboi...diorang nak experiance 'city life in London' pulak.....so,nak tak nak...abah mama kena follooooooow..

Raya Haji di Dublin Airport!

Our trip to London adalah pada 21-23 Ogos,2018...plan dari Malaysia,kononnya nak solat raya & celebrate Raya Haji kat London pada 22 Ogos tu.Ntah macam mana boleh silap percaturan (lupa bahawa bumi ni bulat..kui kui)....sambutan Hari Raya Haji di Dublin dan London adalah pada 21 hb(bukannya 22hb macam kat Msia...) iaitu hari kami berlepas ke London Stansted Airport ..maka..

Musafir di Aidil Adha..

Kami terbang ke London menaiki Ryan Air,penerbangan tambang murah..macam Air Asia.Penerbangan mengambil masa 1 jam 20 minit saja..Kami anak-beranak masing-masing bawa 1 knapsack jer..ala-ala backpacker gitew..

Dari Stansted Airport,kami naik National Express Bus ke airbnb.Kami dah siap-siap book return airport transfer (National Express) dari Malaysia lagi.Cuma,change of plan..last minute..our drop off point bertukar dari Bakers Street ke Victoria Street...disebabkan masalah dengan airbnb yang kami book earlier.

Once a while this thing happen~ Airbnb,London

3 bulan sebelum fly,kami dah book 1 penginapan airbnb di Camden Town,Greater London.It was a modest 3 bedroom apartment,tempat strategic- di tengah-tengah city,the owner diiktiraf as superhost by Airbnb,with more than 200 good reviews...dan yg paling penting,the price was sooo affordable.

Tapi,dah dekat-dekat nak berangkat,kami perasan tak dapat apa-apa welcoming instruction atau notification.Kredit kad dah dicaj..Bila kami buka semula site tu...we found out all the reviews had turned into bad ones.Mostly pasal host yang tak responsive,MIA & ada yang dah pun sampai kat penginapan...tapi tak dapat masuk sebab host takde..so,kena book tempat lain.

We reported this to airbnb.The airbnb offered to look for another place for us (by then we already book new place).Alhamdulillah..kami dapat full refund.

Moral of the story...be cautious..if u book through airbnb,always communicate via airbnb..especially when it comes to money transaction.Never message or deal privately with the host (in order to skip airbnb fees).Kalau apa-apa jadi,we always have Airbnb to look up to.

Travelling is not always fun.Social media feeds are always full of beautiful things,which..in reality...are not always true.Our experience was not that worse..kami share ni supaya kita semua sentiasa berhati-hati...

Tunggu airport transfer

Perjalanan bas dari Stansted Airport ke Victoria Street mengambil masa sejam lebih..agak memenatkan..dan lapar (belum makan apa-apa sejak sarapan pagi).
Sepatutnya,bas tu stop kat Victoria Coach Station...dan dari situ,it takes 10 minutes on foot to reach airbnb.Tapi,disebabkan renovation happening all over London,bas berhenti kat bus stop mana ntah..dan kami terpaksa menapak for 20 minutes ke airbnb.

Pintu hitam di bawah signage Tachbrook Court- ada laluan tangga untuk naik ke airbnb

Ada halal butchery bersebelahan airbnb...tapi tutup sempena Hari Raya Haji

Our airbnb place

Kami tiba di airbnb jam 1 tengahari...hajat nak letak beg..pas tu round-round cari lunch...sebab check in time jam 3 petang.Tapi,bila kami sampai tu,Hana the host allowed us to check in 2 hours earlier...Alhamdulillah..syukur ..

Pantry airbnb

Our self-heating,ready to eat lunch.....masukkan air dalam paket..terus menggelegak.Gambar-google

Selesai solat jamak & rehat-rehat sikit...kami start exploring nearby attractions..Our airbnb ni lokasinya sangat strategik...as it's within 20 mins WALKING DISTANCE from many London's attractions- Thames River,Buckingham Palace,Westmister Abbey,Houses of Parliament,Big Ben,Hyde Park etc etc

Black cab...1 of London icons

Gambar wajib!

Victoria Garden

-public park along the north bank of the River Thames in London

River Thames

Buxton Memorial Fountain-a memorial & drinking fountain in London

Palace of Westmister in the background

Westmister Castle (House of Parliament) & Westmister Abbey (Prince William wedding venue)

Big Ben

Fakta,bukan auta;Big Ben is a bell...not a tower!

The tower,asalnya dipanggil sebagai Clock Tower,kemudiannya dinamakan semula sebagai Elizabeth Tower pada tahun 2012,in honour of Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012

Dipercayai Big Ben dinamakan sempena nama Sir Benjamin Hall,1st Comissioner of Works.Hall was reportedly a large man (6 feet 4 inch or 1.93m)

The tower -under renovation

The clock was barely visible

Eye of London

The Queen's Walk

The broad walkway between Tower Bridge and Lambeth Bridge,along south bank of River thames.Along the way...we can spot HMS Belfast,the Hay's Galleria,the multitude of shops & restaurants,the ships & boats..

The Shard...95-storey supertall skyscrapper in London

HMS Belfast -kapal perang Perang Dunia Kedua yg dibina di Belfast,Northern Ireland

Tower Bridge

Dinner at Baraka Eatery

Towards the evening..kami menuju ke East London, tempat komuniti Muslims..we noticed this area masa dalam bas dari airport ke airbnb...nak cari restaurant halal untuk dinner..

Suasana Hari Raya sangat terasa

Solat raya 5 kali hari ni...

We ended celebrating our Eidul Adha here..at Baraka Eatery.Alhamdulillah..
Restaurant ni terletak di Whitechapel Road...sederet dengan The East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre.