I'm in Ireland! Gaillimh Day Five

Finally, update! A week have gone and some of the activities I did during that day have been forgotten. Pictures record the past, and I have lots. Let's see what I did on that day...

0900 : Luxurious. The only word to describe the place where Hijaz lives. I didn't realise how beautiful his place was when I arrived at his house because of the absence of light at night time. In the morning after we ate breakfast, Hijaz took me out to visit his university.

A mosque nearby Hijaz's house. School, shop, motel, meeting place.

0915 : We reached University College Dublin (UCD). No guards to check our ID, people and cars come and go without restrictions. Joggers everywhere. UiTM please take note...




They have lots of fields. HUGE fields. Rugby, Irish rugby, football, American Football, hockey, lawn bowl, you name it, they have it all.













How big is UCD? They have a mini lake with swans and ducks in it. Go figure.

The biggest human egg in the world (with cute little sperms on it. hehe)

Study here? No thank you. Too cold.

ummm 1400? : Me, Hijaz and two of his friends headed to the bus station at the city. There, we met up with Muaz. Burger Hut take away for dinner. Bought ourselves ticket to Galway.

Boarding the bus...

Inside the bus...

GALWAY!

1800 : 4 hours ride. Smooth trip, really comfortable. Irish drivers don't drive as fast and as dangerous as Malaysian drivers do. Then, we took a cab to a friend's place where we would spend the night.

0000 : We were served a delicious dinner by the host Azri (ex-MRSM KK, classmates with Shafwan), talked, gossiped (much to the chagrin of Azri) and finally slept.

That's it for Day Five. Day Six was a lot of fun! We went to The Cliffs of Moher. Very beautiful, very exciting! Can't update straight away, as I have to go somewhere. 'Till then.

29/12/2008

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to Ariff,
Happy birthday to you!

Adik aku dah 20 tahun pun sekarang.
Dah 19 tahun kita sambut dan kongsi kek sama2, tahun ni x sempat.
Takpe la, kita jumpa lagi kat syurga.

Tahun ni aku x bercadang nak meraikan hari jadi aku, demi berkabung/menghormati pemergian arwah adik ku.

Sedih, sedih, sedihnya aku, Tuhan je tau...

29 Disember 1988 - 20 Ogos 2008

Tidur nyenyak2. Kiamat nanti abang kejutkan.

Apology

I would really like to apologise for the delay in my reporting of my holiday in Dublin and London.
Due to hectic travelling schedule, I wasn't able to update my blog as I wished.
When I landed in Malaysia, mom told me we're going to JB the next day (no internet).
Again, it seems I cannot complete my travel journal.
I will try my best to complete it as soon as possible and to include it with more wonderful pictures from my trip.
Until then, happy spending the rest of your holidays before the new semester begins!

I'm in Ireland! Baile Átha Cliath Day Four

Baile Átha Cliath is Gaelic/Irish for Town of The Hurdled Ford or Dublin, in short.
Gaelic or Irish is the second official language in Ireland aside from English. It sounds and spells nothing like or alike to English, and it's a completely different language.
The signboards all over Ireland are bilingual, meaning they have English and Irish names.

These are warning stickers found in trains in Ireland. Irish and English.

1100 : Okay, back to my journey report. As stated in my Day Three report, I went to Hijaz's place today. I didn't straight away went to his house, instead we met at The Spire (I know I misspelled it as The Spiral in my previous post, sorry about that) because he planned to take me to Powerscourt Gardens in Powerscourt Estate in County Wicklow. We took a tour bus and it took around an hour to reach our destination. The driver cum tour operator was very entertaining. Apart from the history lessons, he sang a lot as well. All of his songs are folk songs, and luckily he's got the voice for it. We passed Bray along the way and a few small towns.

A train passing by in Bray

1230 : We reached Powerscourt Estate. The bus stopped for 2 hours to enable tourists to take a look at the garden. It was raining so it was horribly cold. But worst of all, it made my shoes wet hence wet socks. Wet socks are very uncomfortable, and I was wishing I could take it off as soon as possible. Hijaz was quite disappointed because the garden wasn't as beautiful as he expected due to winter. But we could imagine how it would look like in summer or spring. It must be absolutely gorgeous; colourful and vibrant.

What we were really interested in was the Japanese Garden. Utter Fail! In winter there is nothing. Nothing.

Fail.

The only thing that consoled us was 'how beautiful it would look in summer or spring'. We can only imagine. I found something amusing though, Pet Cemetery.

Yeap, you read it right. Jersey cow and Angus cow. They were even given NAMES!

1630 : We got back home and rested. Hijaz cooked; and he is a good cook! We went out that night and played bowling (I came in second! Yeay!) with his friends, lepak at their houses and played PES. They're a very friendly bunch of people.

The Most Eligible Bachelor Subang Jaya; cooking. Girls, keep drooling...

That was it for day four. The next day we went to UCD where Hijaz studies and then off we went to Galway (Gaillimh in Irish) for 2 days. That is another story. Until then. Good night (as I posted this. hehe)

What a day...

Just got back from Galway. We visited the Cliff of Moher. That was one experience you'll never forget in your lifetime. This is just a short post since I'm too exhausted to write more.
I'll tell you all about it maybe tomorrow. How fast time flies eh? To London in Saturday. Already a week gone...
+++++++++++
Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk mengucapkan takziah kepada Yazrina kerana kematian blog beliau. Ya, BLOG beliau. Blog anda sangat menarik, dan saya sebagai salah seorang pembaca setia anda akan berkabung demi pemergian blog tersebut....

I'm in Ireland! Dublin Day Three

1000 : Off we went to Bray. It was a chilly morning, there were frost marks on the windows. But, it wasn't as chilly as expected when we got out. We took a bus to the city, and then a train to Bray. It took about 30 minutes to reach our destination. Bray is a seaside town, lots of yachts. But in winter, the yachts don't go out to sea. In winter also, all the shops are closed!

The train we boarded.










The scenery of Bray inside the train.

1100 : We reached the town of Bray. It was cold! The seaside breeze didn't help. But the beach was beautiful and clean. We walked along the beach and headed for the hill(or is it a mountain?). We're going to climb up the summit.

Beautiful beach.

1130 : We climbed the hill. It was very high! We had a tough time trekking up. It was steep, and slippery, and sharp. Luckily my pair of shoes is up to task. Very tiring, i dread thinking how tiring it would be to climb a higher mountain like Mt Kinabalu.

(L - R) 50% reached, the arduous terrain, the summit!

We met a few people along the way. Irish people are very friendly! All of them said at least 'good morning' or 'hi' to us.





















1300 : We reached the top and the view was breathtaking! Absolutely magnificent! We could see the whole of Bray from up here. It was worth it, the tiredness simply vanished. The climb made us hot, so i took of my jacket. But once we reached there, it became so cold!!! My fingers were numb! I wore gloves and my fingers are still numb! We prayed before we took more pictures. This has got to be the next best place to pray after Mekah and Madinah. How I wished my brother could be here with me and see this magnificent view.

1400 : We went back down and tried to find a place for lunch. As i mentioned before, all of the shops are closed. Maybe on weekdays no one wanted to come here. Instead, we played bowling!

I was comprehensively beaten by someone who hasn't played for a whole year. I suck.

1600 : We headed back to the city, prayed at a surau (or mosque; I dunno. haha) and went to a restaurant for dinner. I think it was a Pakistani restaurant. I ate Lamb CurryHurry. (cheeky, isn't it?) The serving was HUGE! I frankly don't understand the diet of the Irish people. Everywhere I ate, the serving was huge. And yet, they're not fat at all! (Nah, just kidding. All of 'em got fat beer bellies. Hehe)

Cheeky, yet delicious Lamb CurryHurry

1800 : We continued jalan-jalan at the city. We went through an alley famous for its pubs. I guess our trip won't be complete without taking a picture at the Dublin's Hard Rock Cafe!

Berlagak je depan pintu tu, masuk pun tak berani. Hehe

1900 : Reached home, totally exhausted, body aching all over, thank God i'm a musafir (Jamak is a blessing) slept like a baby. Next day, it's Hijaz's turn to welcome a faraway visitor.

I may or may not be able to complete Day Four and Five because I'm going to Hijaz's place for a day. And then I'm headed to Golway for another two days. You may get an update in two days or more. Stay tuned for more!

p.s - finally my blog is getting interesting. hehe!

I'm in Ireland! Dublin Day Two

1030 : I followed Muaz to play badminton. We played in this small hall which was very cold! It has 6 heating grill on each side but still I was freezing in there. I didn't bring my sports apparels so I had to borrow Muaz's. I played with my Timberland shoes and it was slippery. Still, I had a good time. Most of the students who played are from Malaysia, lots of chinese.

The hall we played in. I was freezing!

1330 : We packed the equipments in the hall (RCSI specially rented it for their students) and headed back home. We had to get ready to go to Malaysian Hall for the gathering.

1400 : We headed out to Malaysian Hall by foot. It wasn't far, we took about 15 minutes (or less) to reach our destination. It was a big house, with many rooms. Sorry I didn't take lots of pictures of it, I thought it would be very embarrassing. Haha. There were lots of Malaysians who attended, families included but majority are students. The Malaysian ambassador came; nice smile, cheerful and bubbly person. Intelligent aura emanating from him as well. I also get to meet my cousin, Azlan. He is a student. We ate pulut kuning with rendang and lontong. It was delicious!


The students chatting while eating.










(L - R) Muaz, me and Azlan




1600 : We headed back to our humble abode to get ready for another event, again a makan-makan. Haha! The guys do this often, to socialise and to strengthen the bond between Malaysian students. They made white rice, roasted chicken and lamb, with kuah asam (very spicy) and a very delicious bread pudding as desserts. I didn't snap pics because a lot of them took it, so I guess I'll take some from them. It will be posted later, I guess. The guys are friendly, and I met this person; their senior who was very funny! We laughed a lot. Very good meeting.

On our way home from the Malaysian Hall.

That's it really for the day. It was a full day, so we didn't go out much. But today I'll be going to Bray. I'm told it is a very beautiful place. But Muaz's friends said it's freakin' cold at this time and it's not such a good idea. But, this is winter. Anywhere I go will be cold, so the plan stays. I'll take lots of pictures when I get there, I'm sure it is a beautiful place. Stay tuned.

I'm in Ireland! Day one

Travelling Log (12 - 13/12) Day one:

12/12/08 Friday 1730 : Finally, finished my practical training!!!
2100 : All packed, set, and off we go to the airport.


2350 : I'm in my plane, the engines are roaring, and my adventure begins!
It's a 12 hour flight to London and I filled my time with the in-flight entertainment and sleeping. Sleeping is hell! It's uncomfortable and I hurt my neck. Sheeeesh!

My entertainment.

13/12/08 Saturday 1230(M'sia)0430(London) : Finally reached Heathrow Airport. It was a chilly 7deg C. I didn't go out of Heathrow cause I abandoned my plan of visiting my cousin due to his flu. So, I straight away went to Terminal 1 (where my next plane to Dublin is) which is a few minutes walk away.

0600 : I managed to get the earliest flight to Dublin; 730 am. Seems the flight is not full because I'm using an open ticket. I was even given a window seat! The departure gate opened at 0630 and so I waited...

That's the plane I boarded; BMI

0630 : The gate opened, I boarded the plane and my journey to Dublin begins.

Dublin, early in the morning.

0830 : Flight went on as scheduled; 0730. The journey took 90 minutes. The immigration officer at Dublin airport sure asks a lot of questions! She's so strict, not even a smile to greet a tourist who's going to help his country's economy. Tsk2. Muaz picked me up and we took the bus to his house.

It's friggin' cold out there! When I landed, it was 3C! I get Afro to thank for for his coat, it's so warm. Thanks man!
Dublin's city as seen on the bus...















In Muaz's room. He got an exam coming up, was it 26 Dec? Can't remember. I rested, took my breakfast (Maggi n milo. haha), watched Arsenal vs Boro. Hijaz came over right after he finished his exam. We went out to the city for a little sightseeing.






1430 : After praying, we went out. They took me to a park first. I can't remember the name. They said in summer the place is beautiful.

Got few swans and ducks. My sister would be thrilled if she sees this. Didn't see any squirrels, though. Maybe I'll see more of them at Hyde Park in London.

The city is bustling! I think it's because of the weekend. It's very unique; left and right there's a lot of street performance. Busking is a common sight, so is miming.

A mime in progress...

At Trinity University. Standing in front of a bell tower. According to Hijaz, if the bell tolls when you're under it, it means you're going to fail (in your exams). I din't go under it; I've had enough failing. Hehe.

We went to the middle of the city, sightseeing, took a few snaps off my camera.

I liked this particular word spoken by some Jim Larkin :

The great appear great because we are on our knees: Let us rise.

Semangat right? Haha



The abovementioned Jim Larkin.

The Spiral. The highest structure in Dublin!

Didn't have lunch, so we're pretty hungry. We went to a halal fast food restaurant called Burger something. Can't remember, sorry. Hehe. For 8E, I got this meal set, a Double Double. All three of us took this set. The burger was HUGE! and they're not kedekut with the fries too! Man, were we full! The patty was thick! I don't think it was beef though, tasted like lamb... I don't care, I love it!




We walked a few more places, and we split up with Hijaz. Me and Muaz visited a few shopping complexes, and then took a bus home.


A christmas decoration...

There's a canal a few metres form his house, we visited for a while. Lots of swans in it.
One we got home, I was dead tired and slept like a log.
And now, here I am, writing a blog at 3 am wide awake because of the jetlag. Haha!
That's all for day one. Today we're going to play badminton in the morning, visit the Malaysian House for some event (I was told I can meet my other cousin there) and go somewhere that Muaz had planned for me. Stay tuned for more report!

-Out-