we went out and took the Metro to St. Lazare station..that's where we're gonna take the Euro star to London..from St Lazare we switched our train to RER (which is like the KTM over there) to go to Magenta..no, not the color magenta, but the name of the station..we had trouble going through the ticket port with our bags..after all the struggling, and all the stairs, and all of the walking we went through..we finally arrived Gare Du Nord..which is like KL Sentral in Malaysia..we arrived early at around 11.30am..so we had some leisure time to walk around n drink coffee..at 12.30 we checked in..it was so cool..all we had was a piece of paper with a bar code and all we had to do was run it through the infrared laser thingy and the doors will open..think of a cashier scanning the bar code at the counter..something more or less like that..then we passed through the immigration, and waited some more to go to the train in the 'waiting lounge'..went to the toilet briefly with mom..soon, the speakers announced that it was time, and to queue up at the appropriate door..we put our bags in the carriage and settled in our seats..the train departed at exactly 1.01pm local time..unfortunately, the captain was french so we couldn't understand his English (sure, blame the guy for not pronouncing English the right way..i should blame myself for forgetting my french..)...during the 2 hours and a half train ride, i eventually finished my book,ate a croissant n listen to my 'serene' and screaming music through my mp3..mom n dad slept all the way..dad even snored a lil bit..hehehe..let's just say mom n i pretended that we didn't know who dad was...hahahahaha..
drank hot chocolate while waiting to check in..
at the station Pariswe arrived at aorund 3.30-4.00pm at London St. Pancras..also another central station in London..we got out of the station n took a taxi (or black top, as my mom would call it) to go to the apartment -hotel..the cab was really spacious as it could fit all our bags in..the fare was around 6-10pounds..we checked in our hotel and went straight to the room..the corridors were 'slim' and the width could only fit 1 person for one way..it kind of reminded me of the Stanley Hotel hallway in Stephen King's The Shining..here's a pic i snapped of it...
scray, huh..plus the lights were automatically turned on only, and only if it sensed something moving..soo veery creeeepy...we took our bags in n rested for a while...around 6pm (which was already dark) we went out for dinner at Malaysian Hall..honestly speaking, if it were me, i'd rather eat bread n jam after what i experienced there..1st of all the food was way expensive..1 scoop of lauk costs around 1pound..which is abt RM5-6...well, of course u mite say "yeah, if u convert everything it will be expensive"..i can't help it..its in my nature to control my budget, hence, converting the currency to Malaysian Ringgit..n furthermore Malaysian who r in England are a lil' bit snobby and arrogant..(sorry if i offended any1, apparently, not everyone is like that..im sure that most of them still have their Malaysian culture embedded in them)..let's just say..they did not asked me "would u like anything?may i help u?"..nadda..not even 1 word..then when i went to the cashier at this 'makcik', she was a lil bit stiff..i asked her if i cld order some water..but she just pointed at the water cooler..can u believe that?coming from a 'makcik' who should have more politeness in her n more humility..coz she's just a foreigner..or a 'pendatang'..she cnt even give more hospitality towards her own kind?..craaazy ppl..and when i handed her the money, she simply thumped the change on the counter and didn't even look at me even though i said 'terima kasih'..how rude..i vowed to myself that if i ever set foot in that place i will never give profit to the operator there..n to top off the impoliteness n rudeness her cooking wasn't even good..it tasted like dirt..to me, just becoz u hv the opportunity to stay in London for business, doesn't mean ur soooooooo good that u hv the right to not acknowledge ppl like that...anyways...
we walked around the place to find a grocery store..bought some mineral water, bread (as usual), fresh cream, croissant, scones and fresh milk..also bought some chocolates to give to Aki's kid (he's K.Ayu - my sis-in-law's brother)..i'll explain later..we got back to the hotel while mom had some difficulty in contacting Aki..when we arrived at the hotel lounge, we saw them there sitting on the couch..
we sat for a while talking abt stuff..apparently, in London u have to pay if u want to come in town..u need to pay for the congestion fee..no wonder every1 rides the bus or take the black top..while they were talking, mom told me to take the stuff down..so the story goes of our meeting with Aki started when K.Ayu (my sis-in-law) who's married to Bg.Wan said that Aki wanted to buy a camera and asked Bg.Wan to buy 1 at Malaysia..so when they heard that we were going to London the saw the window of opportunity open..Bg.Wan asked us to give it to Aki..coz it seems that they wanted to go for a trip around Paris..so they wnted some pictures..that's why we met Aki today...after exchanging stufff and chatting, we finally got the chance, again, to go to bed..
unfortunately, at night..we were all sleepless...
END OF DAY 2
*i will nvr ever eat at Malaysian Hall..its filled with a bunch of snobby people..
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