When I left Stansted Airport, near London, on the night of September 21, 2010, my smiling daughter Syazan was already there to greet me. From there, we took a train to Liverpool Station, and then take a bus to Notting Hill Gate, reaching her apartment in Chayniston Gardens, in the Kingston area of Kensington and Chelsea, close to 1:00
Our trip was easy, as her apartment was located about 2 minutes walk from High Street Kensington metro station. Londoners called it a pipe. where the main stop is Paddington Station. In addition to the tube, we also took a red double-decker bus, which always arrived on time. As in other seasons of Londoners, we also bought an Oyster card, which could be used when traveling by bus or bus.
In order to connect with family and friends at home, I changed the SIM card of my mobile phone to a local one, called Orange.
While in London, my daughter brought me to several food restaurants in Malaysia, with the exception of regular fast food restaurants. We had lunch twice at the Malaysia Hall Lounge Café, located on the Queensborough terrace in the Bayswater area. The dining room was located in the same building as the Malaysian High Commission. We also ate at other restaurants in the Bayswater and Paddington areas, such as Bonda Café, Tuk Din Restaurant, Delima Restaurant, C & R Malaysian Cuisine and Khan. When we were shopping in Westfield, we had lunch at the restaurant Jom Makan.
While I was there, the Malaysian Food Festival was held on Trafalgar Square on September 24, 2010. As on Friday, my daughter and I were able to attend the festival and taste Malaysian cuisine after my Friday prayer in the central mosque of London located on Park Road, Regent's Park. It was a joyous event, except that the evening was cold and windy.
Since my vacation was about two weeks, my daughter planned to visit several popular places. One evening we went for a walk on the Westminster Bridge, above the River Thames. Tourists from all over the world were seen with photos of Big Ben or the Westminster Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament. I used to read in a travel magazine that this clock tower (now known as Elizabeth Tower) is the most photographed structure in the world.
Another favorite destination for tourists, as well as Londoners, is Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II. It was advisable to be there on Wednesday morning, around 11:00, as there will be a colorful farewell called "Changing the Guard". The guards, in red coats, first held a rehearsal in their barracks, before they voluntarily went to the palace. When I was there, the guards group played a familiar instrumental theme, a nostalgic “Mission Impossible”. The audience clapped loudly and joyfully when they finished.
On September 27 we had breakfast in the famous restaurant in front of our apartment called The Muffin Man Tea Shop. This restaurant is famous for its sandwich and bun located on the corner of Wright Lane and Chayniston Gardens. Our plan for this day was to visit the famous landmark in Greenwich. It was about thirty minutes by train from central London.
Greenwich is also popular as a university city. Usually, tourists came to Greenwich to visit the main meridian of the world in the courtyard of the Royal Observatory. The Royal Observatory is home to the Prime Meridian of the World and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We can print our own certificate, pre-signed by the Director of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, referring to the date and time of our visit and the Premium Meridian.
We also took the opportunity to visit the nearby city of Manchester. The journey to the Virgin Train began at Euston Station. A two-hour journey took us to Manchester Piccadilly Station, after stopping at Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport stations. We stayed at the Ramada, just a few minutes walk from the train station. During the day we went to Salford Quays by tram and had lunch at Harbor City. At night, we enjoyed having Malay food at Ning Restaurant, located on Oldham Street.
After we returned from Manchester, we took Amira for lunch at Satai House, located in Sale Place, near Sussex Gardens. In fact, her mom, Julian Bahari, is a close friend, as well as my former work assistant.
It is well known all over the world that London is a paradise for shopping. Most people go to Oxford Street and nearby places, including Knightsbridge, where Harrods is located. For souvenirs, I prefer to go to the Bayswater area to buy them. Items such as postcards, key chains, fridge magnets, T-shirts, silencers, London street signs, silencers and other items at a reasonable price. For quality second-hand products and paintings, we can buy them in the Portobello market.
The day before leaving London, we set off on a 20-minute train ride from Paddington Station to Reading Center to have dinner at our family friend's house, Raja Iskandar and his wife Erna (now a doctor). In fact, last week they came to take us to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant on Edgware Road in the Bayswater area. We were very pleased to see them again.
I tried to remember my first vacation in London in March 1986. In fact, at that time I attended a two-month course on lubrication at Agip Petroli in Rome, Italy. When classes were canceled on Friday and the following Monday due to holidays, we took the opportunity to go to London. I went there with my assistant, Salahuddin, who also attended the course. Based on the experience of his student life, we put nights at Bed & Breakfast (B & B) in Norfolk Place, Sussex Gardens. The nearest tube was Lancaster station.
During our short stay we managed to visit Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street, Buckingham Palace, Soho and Little Venice. I remember to see a poster that was sold on the sidewalk with the words: "If you are tired of London, you are tired of life." Surely, I never get tired of London!
My London holiday in London ended on October 8th. We took a train from Liverpool Station, heading for Stansted Airport. Saying goodbye to my daughter, I entered the terminal for my journey home. The plane took off at about 9:00 pm for the LCC terminal in Sepang, Malaysia, thus ending its truly unforgettable 18-day stay in London (and Manchester) with my loving daughter Syazana.
