TRaVeL-LeeN: March 2012

On the 8 April 2011, I was so blessed and grateful coz I was able to celebrate my birthday in the Land of William Wallace. By the way, it was my 18th birthday ye (hahahaha berpuluh2 tahun aku bg discounts tuh! ;p ). Memang lah terasa jugak coz terpaksa celebrate jauh drp family & loved ones tp demi pengalaman baru, peluang ini harus direbut! Peluang takkan dtg byk kali. Lagi pun ini bukan first time celebrate jauh dari family. Sah2 masa study dulu, 2 tahun celebrate di perantauan juga.

Seawal 8am lagi kami dah keluar from hotel coz kena ke Scotline Tours office. Kami terus checked out from hotel pagi tu. Sambil menggalas beg yg besar tu, kami berdua terkedek2 mendaki bukit utk ke agency. Kami terpaksa bwk beg bersama coz flight kami ke London pukul 7am next day. So mlm itu kami akan tido di airport lagi, buat kali kedua. Amazing race kan itinerary kami? Ingat, bagi kami masa itu duit! Oleh itu, masa tidak boleh dibuang! Apatah lagi duit?? ;p

Since semlm nya kami dah sesat, pagi ni kami dah ala2 expert. Sekejap je dah sampai to the destination. So x de lah letih sgt mendaki dgn beg besar kan? Satu peringatan ye, sini bukan Malaysia, so janji Melayu jgn dipraktikkan di sini. Everything must be on time. Kami pegi satu bus tp x de lah smp 40 orang dlm bus tu. Naik bus kat sini diwajibkan pakai seat belt ye. Pas semua ahli complete, kitaorg pun bertolak ke destinasi bersama Jimmy, the bus driver & tour guide.

The original price of the one-day-tour to the highlands ialah GBP35. Tapi di atas kehebatan PR kami, pakcik omputihs tu setuju bagi kami harga GBP28 saja. Alhamdulillah, syukur rezeki kami murah kali ni. Originally, kitaorg just ambik tour The Taste of Scotland je, x plan nak pegi smp highlands segala.

Ini lah route perjalanan kitaorg. Next to the map ialah pic Nessie (nnt aku citer abt Nessie)

Jom tgk pic permandangan di sepanjang journey kami ni. Most of the pics ni kitaorg snap dari dlm bus, so mmg x clear sgt lah ye. According to Jimmy, in Scotland we can experience the 4 seasons in one day! Betul jugak cakap dia tu coz aku tgk matahari terik, tp sejuk. Ada snow cap di puncak gunung. Bunga2 elok berkembang mekar kat certain areas.Ada jugak daun2 kering gugur ke bumi. Hebat sungguh ciptaan Allah.

Saujana mata memandang


Snow cap on top of the mountain.

First stop was kat satu area yg ala2 R&R. Kami sempat le beli sandwich & hot choc utk breakfast. Tempat ni dari luar nmpk kecik je. Tapi sebenarnya it comprises of kedai souvenirs (besar & best ala2 rambang mata nak beli sumer benda), cafe yg boleh tahan besar (tp of course x byk pilihan makanan for the Muslims) & kandang Hamish (first time aku tgk haiwan ni..besarnya!). Tanpa perlu aku explain pjg lebar, of course most of the time aku duk tawaf kat souvenirs shop tu je yg lama ;p )

R&R yg kami berenti for breakfast. Best coz kedai souvenirs & cafe besar!

Nyaman breakfast kat luar ni sambil merenung the highlands


Ini je lah yg menyakinkan utk dimakan

Besar. Ter jakun jap!

Tak sempat pun nk baca explanation psl haiwan ni. Lama sgt aku lepak kat kedai souvenirs!

Perjalanan diteruskan ke Glencoe, the infamous site of the 1692 Massacre for a photo stop.Sebenarnya sepanjang perjalanan ni mcm2 sejarah yg Jimmy cerita tp silap nya aku x take note le plak! Rugi nya tak take note. Skrg tak tahu nak citer apa pasal tmpt2 ni! Maka haruslah aku google sket the history of Glencoe ni ok.

Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, a massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in Scottish Gaelic Mort Ghlinne Comhann (murder of Glen Coe). The massacre began simultaneously in three settlements along the glen—Invercoe, Inverrigan, and Achnacon—although the killing took place all over the glen as fleeing MacDonalds were pursued. Thirty-eight MacDonalds from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by the guests who had accepted their hospitality, on the grounds that the MacDonalds had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs, William and Mary. Another forty women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned. (Wikipedia)

For more info, kindly refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe
Jgn tanya aku kenapa ada nama MacDonalds segala dlm ini citer ok!

The background is "The Three Sisters." Photo taken by Jimmy

The three mountain peaks at this area is called The Three Sisters a.k.a pergunungan tiga saudara. Interesting explanation about the three sisters could be obtained from http://www.glencoescotland.com/p/v/mountains/

The Three + 1 sisters captured!

Bridge / railway apakah ini? Dah lupa namanya, camana nak search online? :(

Batu bersurat versi Scotland di Glencoe

Next stop was the Commando Memorial at Fort William. This area is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland. Queen Mother yg telah unveiled the memorial in 1952.

Mula2 aku dah excited sakan dah bila Jimmy ckp nak gi Fort William. Apa lagi kalo tak feeling nak jumpa tugu William Wallace hensem mcm Mel Gibson. Sah2 itu hadiah birthday yg best kan? Tapi hampa coz according to Jimmy, statue William Wallace boleh dilawat if ikut pakej lain. Cesss!!!

Commando Memorial ni terletak di kawasan tertinggi. Kabus all over!

The Commando Memorial is a Category A listed monument in Scotland, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised during World War II. Situated around a mile from Spean Bridge village, it overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it has become one of Scotland's best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr.

Should you are interested to know more, kindly refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando_Memorial

Kami berhenti lunch di satu kawasan rehat yang aku dah lupa apa namanya. hehehehe..lapar sgt le tuh! Kami share fish & chips saja. Sehabis saja lunch, kami dibawa ke Spean Bridge. Permandangan kat sini sgt cantik dah kita boleh captured the Great Glen. The Great Glen, a natural fault line cutting the Highlands in two, has long been a major communication route.

Dari sini, kami dibawa ke Urquhart Castle. Dari castle ni boleh naik short cruise to Inverness. Utk naik cruise tu kena byr extra GBP15. Kalau naik cruise tu dpt lah captured scenery yg cantik2. Tapi kitaorg x naik pon. Kitaorg ke Inverness naik bus je.

Kat bawah tu lah Urquhart Castle

Di Inverness kitaorg berhenti lagi. Ada lagi souvenirs shop. So kat sini baru lah aku beli sket souvenirs. Lama lepak sini coz tunggu cruise sampai. So kitaorg pun lepak2 lah tepi tasik tu mencari Nessie (monster) yg dikatakan pernah muncul di Loch Ness! Byk berangan lah org2 ni sumer! Hahahaha..

Ni kira paling berseni lah pic aku snap ni! ;p

Menanti Nessie yg tak kunjung tiba


Angin mmg kuat gak time ni. Sejuk!

Stop terakhir kami adalah di Perthshire sebelum kami pulang ke Edinburgh. Byk sgt plak tempat berhenti. Kali ni kitaorg just lepak2 je lah kat luar. Dah letih.

Overall trip ni mmg sgt berbaloi coz experience nya berbeza. Sepanjang perjalanan balik ke Edinburgh aku mmg tidur je laa coz dah lembik mcm sayur basi. Nasib baik cuaca sejuk, so tak berpeluh & tak busuk le bau badan walaupun tak mandi since pagi.

Since kami terpaksa terus ke airport, maka bus berhenti kan kami di bus stop kat Edinburgh. Senang je nak dpt bus to the airport. Penatnya mmg x pyh ceritalah kan. Tapi kena kuatkan semangat jugak. Sesampainya kami di airport, terus cari tempat utk lepak. Lama gak le duduk termenung kat kerusi. Yang menariknya, kat airport sini ada prayer room tau. Selesa bilik tu ada aircond. Cuma prayer room ni boleh digunakan oleh pelbagai agama lah. Tak kisah lah janji bersih.

Pas solat, kami cari pulak port yg lebih sesuai utk baring. Haa sejak2 tgk org sini selamba je tido baring kat airport, aku pun cepat je menyesuaikan diri! Tak fikir apa lagi dah coz penat sgt2. Aku pun tidur sambil berbantalkan beg smplah waktu utk check in! Collapsed abis walaupun tido atas lantai yg sejuk!

* to be continued.

After rehat2 kat hotel, kami decided not to waste anymore time. Masa itu emas! Masa itu duit! Maka, perlulah merajinkan diri bangun & bersiap2 utk self-city-tour. Cuaca masih sejuk, so best lah nak berjalan. Sure x berpeluh2 ketiak! ;p

Prinsip kitaorg hari ni ialah meredah bandar Edinburgh utk mencari travel agent utk trip ke highlands esok. Maka apa lagi kawan2, marilah kita mulakan operasi mendaki bukit sambil menjakunkan diri melihat castle2 yg gah di atas bukit. Waaaaaahhhh!!! This is totally different from Amsterdam! Dgn Brussels pun x sama. Ini mmg btol2 bandar ancient. Tetiba aura William Wallace menjadi semakin kuat!

Kat atas tu lah castle (kot?) yg tersegam kukuh lg kebal! Obviously aku x dapat cover kejakunan coz asyik je nak menoleh tgk castle tu. Scary ok kalau tinggal kat dalam castle tu..boleh sesat kot coz sah2 ada beratus2 bilik tu kan?

Oleh kerana jakun di tahap max, maka kitaorg decide utk lepak jap kat bench tu sambil merenung castle. Serius!

Laluan utama yg agak bz

Bertenggek kat batu tu coz dah letih mendaki ;p

Kiri kanan jalan ni dipenuhi dgn kedai2 yg menjual mcm2 barang. Byk gak pashmina / shawls / sarung tangan/ sweater yg cantik2 & murah2 tp sumer tebal2. Kalau diikutkan nafsu perempuan aku yg 9 ni, mmg byk lah aku borong coz dah le murah, color sgt mengancam plak tuh! Mujur lah tetiba terlintas fikiran rational sekejap sambil memikirkan, kalo aku bwk balik Msia kain tebal ni sumer aku nak bungkus apa nnt? Bungkus cempedak? Nangka? Uiskkk terus x jadi beli! Tp pastu terfikir plak, isk membazir beli glove segala kat Msia, patutnya borong terus kat sini jek! Hendak jugakkkkk membeli!! ;p

Shopping!!

Operasi mencari travel agency ni sgt sulit! Nak mencari jalan berdasarkan alamat tu x susah. Tp nak mencari unit kedai tu yg mencabar coz jalan tu sepanjang2 alam smp ke castle atas nun! Lagi panik bila tanya org kat situ, diaorg pun x pasti. Biar btol ni Kak June. Wujud ke x wujud ni agency ni?

Penat2 pun, muka kena ceria bila posing! ;p

Tapi gagahkan jugak lah kaki meredah. Ok mmg 10 kilo aku kurus hari tuh! hahahhaha rasa nk tercabut kaki den! Ramai jugak seniman jalanan dok perform kat tepi2 jalan ni. Satu yg menarik perhatian aku ialah awek ni. Sedap suara dia ok!

Snap pic dari jauh je ni

Kitaorg tgk ramai je org melepak2 kat tempat ni..Hunter Square kalo tak salah aku nama tmpt ni. Tak tau lah apa plak kisah di sebalik nama tu kan. Kitaorg take 5 jap kat sini sambil melunjur2 kaki coz location agency itu masih clueless! Oh Scotline Tours, di mana kah kau???

(refer: www.scotlinetours.co.uk)

Banyak tugu2 pahlawan di sepanjang Royal Mile ni. Tapi since kami main redah sendiri without tour guide, aku pun x sure lah patung2 sapa sbnarnya ni. Tapi snap je lah pics coz ramai je org snap pic kat sini. Kiranya ala2 I don't wanna miss a thing gitu ;p Wishful thinking: Mencari2 tugu William Wallace tp tiada di sini! :(

Ok sudah lah dgn tugu2 tu sumer, now kita tgk pic shopping2 plak. Apa brg2 yg ada dijual kat sini? Royal Selangor pewter pun ada ok u ols! Bangga aku!

Belilah barangan buatan MALAYSIA!


Teruja nk membeli di sini!

Bazaar jual brg di tepi2 jln

Kedai2 souvenirs pun mmg melambak2 along the road. Tapi aku x beli byk pun. As usual, beli keychain, fridge magnet and pinggan display utk mak aku. Dia suka sgt mengumpul pinggan2 display dari negara2 yg dia pernah pegi.

Adoi benda2 yg dlm bakul2 tu sgt murah u ols!

Tengah dok jalan2 tu, terjumpa Scottish man ni. Terus dgn muka tanpa segan silu lagi nekad semangat "Malaysia Boleh!" kitaorg approached him. Friendly btol lah pakcik ni, dia happy je nak posing dgn kitaorg. Nasib baik aku x over friendly request for his FB account! hahahaha

Jalan ke depan sikit plak, kitaorg jumpa sorang mamat sedang main back pipe! Aku mmg suka bunyi back pipe ni. Makin menjadi2 lah aura "Braveheart" kan? Hampir2 aku nak wat special request suruh dia main lagu tema movie tuh. Ada a few songs gak dia main, so kitaorg pun bagi lah syiling sket. Sebenarnya kalau ada duit RM1, aku nak bagi gak kat dia as kenang2an.

Kitaorg terus menuju puncak smp ke castle. Malas nak masuk coz castle pun still under renovation. Cakap pasal renovation ni, ada jalan2 yg tutup. Itu pasal lah kitaorg x boleh nak ikut google map punya direction yg kitaorg dah printed out. By the way, ini lah pic yg kitaorg sempat snap di depan castle. X byk pic coz time ni aku dah letih campur tension cari agency tu x jumpa2.

As usual, x de pun perkataan "Selamat Datang" di situ

Ni lah castle yg dok nampak besar atas bukit tu


Kalo malas nk menapak, boleh naik bas ni

Setelah sakan mendaki bukit, turun bukit, ke hulu ke hilir bertanya orang, akhirnya jumpa jugak lah agency ni. Ntah kenapa lah susah nak jumpa, padahal locationnya bukan lah tersorok sgt pun. Friendly staff kat sini. Pakcik tu terkejut bila kitaorg bagitahu kitaorg from Amsterdam. Terus dia pesan " You girls, don't be naughty ok. Here is not Amsterdam" Eh?? Apakah muka kitaorg ni ala2 pompuan di red light district itu?

Selepas sembang2, kitaorg dpt upgrade tour dgn harga yg murah. So esok pagi2 kitaorg akan bertolak ke Loch Ness, Glencoe and the Highlands! Excited giler! Ini lah reason kenapa kitaorg nak sgt pegi Edinburgh, because of the highlands!

Pas dah settle semua, baru lah hati kitaorg lega. So on the way back tu kitaorg jalan2 je lah. Ada byk museums kat sini. Rumah hantu pun byk gak! Tapi satu pun kitaorg x masuk. Setakat snap pics je laa.

Terlalu asyik berjalan smp kitaorg sesat! Hahahha ambik ko! Oleh kerana dh x larat sgt nak jalan kaki balik hotel, kitaorg just naik cab je. Oh yes, before balik tu kitaorg sempat tapau tuna sandwich kat Subway and beli pisang & epal utk bekalan esok. Baru kitaorg realized yg kitaorg x makan lunch pun!